Ask Mercy Not of Me
by Rhino7
Summary: After an unprovoked attack leaves everyone dead or damaged, the responsibility of lifting the Alliance back up falls on a man who has yet to leave his knees. Dark fic, Sora centric. Post KHII. Rated for safety.
1. Phoenix

**Ask Mercy Not of Me**

**By Rhino7**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine. So this is it, the first chapter of the story that has been plaguing my imagination for the last six months. I've been writing on and off of this first chapter for weeks, and I'm still not satisfied with it. But, I don't think I can write another, better draft, so here it is. **

**Fear not, I accept that this chapter is short. It was only about 7 or 8 pages long on Microsoft Word. I promise the rest of the chapters will be at least 10 to 15 pages long. This is just the stage setting. Also, for those who have read **_**Kissing and the Art of Flirting with Idiots**_**, kindly disregard that while reading this. Yes, it does start out as SoKai, but…well, you'll see what happens…Any and all constructive feedback is always appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter One: Phoenix**

Sora didn't know what to do anymore.

The hospital wing of Disney Castle was chilly at night, like most hospitals, but tonight it was downright freezing, at least to him. The low thrum of the air conditioning danced in little waves of sound over the tile floors. It was too quiet. Quiet in a hospital is an eerie presence, and all Sora could hear was the quiet. The thrum of the air conditioning and the patter of the rain had to fight through the thick cotton that felt clogged in his ears.

Sora had never felt so weak before. So helpless and vulnerable.

The chilled air moved in invisible currents through the open space, undulating in a curling blossom over the thin sheets. Sora couldn't even shiver as the air penetrated the blanket and the sheets, attacking his burned and broken flesh. He didn't attempt to pull the blanket closer or curl up into a warm ball. He fisted the sheets with white knuckles, but that was about it.

Sora felt nothing.

Maybe that was why it felt so cold. He was existentially and uncomfortably numb. The raw tsunami of emotions that had overwhelmed his heart's reservoir had run dry, and he simply had nothing left to feel. Except cold. And he couldn't even shiver anymore.

Kairi was asleep.

Sora moved glassy eyes from the window to her face. Kairi had barely left his side since…well three days ago. She had been forced to leave when the doctors removed the shrapnel from his shoulder and cut the melted clothes from his skin. Other than that, she had been with him. Well, she had also left him alone when he had to identify the bodies. She hadn't been able to stand that, and Sora couldn't bring himself to burden her with seeing what he'd seen.

Kairi was leaned forward in her chair, her arms folded on the edge of the bed, her head nestled in one elbow, her face turned toward him. Long eyelashes shrouded her closed eyes and a few locks of auburn red hair had fallen forward to frame her pale face. The moonlight, fighting through the rain and the thick glass of the window, rippled through and touched her face. Pale, soft, unbroken, unmarred, not scarred or blemished, but perfect.

Sora grimaced and turned away from her.

It took an unusual amount of effort to roll over. He didn't know how long he'd been lying on his back, but his neck was feeling stiff. Slowly, so as not to disturb Kairi's sleeping form, Sora curled his right arm towards his body, mindful of the thick bandages around his hand, and pulled his left shoulder across to turn his back to her. A few minutes of tentative wriggling later, he had managed to roll onto his right hip, easing the pressure off his left shoulder and gingerly holding his right hand on the mattress.

Kairi stirred with a soft moan behind him and Sora grimaced. While Kairi had tried for three days to comfort and help him, what Sora really wanted was to be left alone. There was no comfort she could offer and no help to give. Her presence, while soothing, served more of the purpose of a hindrance than support. As she began to shift behind him, Sora was careful to keep the tension out of his body, to maintain the ruse of sleep.

"Sora?" Kairi's sleep laden voice broke through the marsh in his ears.

Sora bit his lower lip, eyes narrowed to slits, watching through his eyelashes as the rain pattered against the window glass. Go back to sleep, Kairi. Leave the wing and go to sleep in your own room. He willed her silently.

She didn't speak again, and Sora didn't look to see if she'd gone or just fallen asleep again. Easing her from his mind, Sora instead let his attention wander to the rain. He couldn't hear the rain; blown ear drums tended to block out those low level sounds. His eyes, however, followed the path of the drops on the glass as they traversed across the plane, gathering into rivulets that formed a web of watery veins, dumping onto the sill. The pale moonlight ran rampant in crystalline sparkles over the drops, making the window glitter.

Sora could still smell the fire, ashes, and blood burned black.

He inhaled slowly, drawing in as much cool, clear oxygen as his lungs would allow. The nasal cannula was pushing against his cheek as he tilted his head to the side, but he did nothing to fix it. Just as slowly, he exhaled, pushing out the spent air like a toxin.

"Talk to me."

Kairi's voice carried tones so frail and concerned, it was all Sora could do not to roll over and comfort her, tell her everything was okay, it was going to be okay, he was okay. He couldn't, because everything was not okay, it would never be okay, and he most certainly was NOT okay. So he just feigned sleep, not responding to her at all. He was actually getting pretty good at it. He could count how many words he'd said over the last three days on one hand…well, his left hand maybe.

Sora felt Kairi sitting up behind him, could almost imagine her large blue eyes watching him expectantly, worriedly, for a reprieve from this still, quiet Sora. She was probably thinking, trying to choose the best way to coerce him to open up to her, spill his feelings, and start that healing process. No, Sora didn't want to go through that yet. In order to begin the healing process, he had to be willing to accept the wound. He just couldn't do that. Not yet. It was too soon.

"O-okay, just—just know that when…whenever you do want to talk…Please, Sora, let me help." She stammered uncomfortably.

Sora clenched a fist around the sheets, pleading inwardly for her to just go, to leave him be and go. Of course, she didn't get that telepathic telegram. What felt like the back of her fingers grazed the small of his back. A cautious, reassuring touch. Four, knuckled fingers traced a short line across his back, her thumb rubbing two small circles before she hesitantly withdrew.

"Y-you're tired, I bet. I'll just—you know—let you sleep…I'll come back tomorrow, I promise."

The muted squeak of her chair being pushed back along the tiles as she stood. Sora could almost see her, in his mind's eye, looking unsure and pausing, reaching out to offer another affectionate and soothing touch, but hesitating and, in defeat, leaving him in peace. He heard her shoes click across the floor as she crossed the room and the gentle groan of the door sliding open and closed.

Alone now. Sora wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

The pain was slowly creeping back into his shoulder and the deep seated throb had returned to his hand as the pain killers wore off. Gritting his teeth, Sora lifted his left arm and reached over to grip the control of the morphine drip. With surprisingly steady fingers, he depressed the button and eased his arm back to its former position. The drug's relief was almost immediate, the cool, unfeeling sensation clouding over the pain in his shoulder.

His hand was still stinging, and throbbed continually with his pulse. The bandages around his hand were thick and many layered, but he could still see the empty space. He could still see the lack of matter where three days ago there had been two working fingers. Only the top digits of his remaining fingers were poking out of the bandages. They were purple and bruised, blood clotted under his fingernails. He couldn't have moved them if he'd wanted to, and he didn't want to. So whatever.

His ribs were starting to protest the pressure of lying on one side, groaning against the bruised curves of his spine. Another cruel onslaught of air brushed over the bare skin of his neck and the side of his face that wasn't covered in gauze. The muscles in his chest were constricted and sore, making breathing an unpleasant experience. His knee was aching and felt hot against his other leg, probably still swelling.

He was just falling apart, wasn't he?

A morbid flash of humor tickled his throat, but it died quickly and Sora closed his eyes, releasing a hoarse breath that hitched at his collar. His ribs were sore. Lying on his side wasn't helping that ailment. He gritted his teeth in exasperation. There was no comfortable position. Every inch of his body ached no matter how he tried to sleep.

One lone fork of lightning illuminated the sky outside, sending a brief blast of light through the curtained windows and reflected off the white tile floor, stabbing at his eyes. It reminded Sora too much of fire. Hot, red, angry fire. Sora closed his eyes tightly, biting his lip hard, but not hard enough to stifle a muffled groan. The sound seemed to echo off the walls and he was mildly surprised that nurses didn't come rushing in to see what was wrong. Maybe his earlier shouting session had sent them permanently scurrying for cover. Maybe that was a good thing.

The painkillers were making everything fuzzy. The hospital wing was sliding back and forth, zigging where it should have been zagging. The moonlight cascading through the window danced through all the shifting versions through his eyes, giving his vision a kaleidoscopic feeling. Under the glaze of morphine, he decided that tomorrow he was going to get out of this bed, out of the hospital wing, and get some answers.

Until then, he let the drugs work their magic. Sora closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, succumbing to the lure of sleep. He could only pray he wouldn't dream of fire.

**..:--X--:..**

"_You cheated!"_

"_You're just a sore loser."_

"_Nuh-uh! You cheated!"_

"_Did not!"_

"_Did too!"_

"_Did not!"_

"_Ah, the intelligent conversations of the Keyblade Masters." Kairi interrupted, walking up between Sora and Riku. "Who started it this time?"_

_Sora hooked an arm around her neck. "I was just schooling Riku on what a fair sparring match is."_

_Riku laughed, "Oh please. I beat you fair and square, and you know it."_

"_You threw sand in my eyes!" Sora pointed out. "That's against the rules!"_

_Riku laughed again, "Rules? When have there ever been any rules?"_

_Sora started to retort, paused, mulled it over, and settled for glaring. "Still." He faced forward again. "Cheap shot."_

_Riku snorted and shook his head as they walked on down the busy street of the Radiant Garden Marketplace. Sora flashed him a victorious grin._

"_But," He started, "Whatever it takes to help you sleep at night. Besides, Kairi likes me more."_

_Kairi giggled and shrugged to Riku. "He's got you there." _

_Sora pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips. He felt her smile and he smiled too, pulling away and grinning at Riku again. Riku wore a sour expression._

"_Ugh, get a room." He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked ahead of them._

"_It's a natural act of affection, Riku." Sora prattled on now that he could see he'd ruffled his friend's feathers. "Just because you can't get a girl who tolerates you."_

_Riku chuckled, shook his head, and walked on, "Better than overdoing the PDA like you dorks."_

_Sora smirked and winked at Kairi. Riku played cool, but Sora knew better. They'd both had feelings for Kairi since she moved to Destiny Islands. Throughout their adventures against the Heartless and even Organization XIII, Sora knew how Riku felt toward Kairi. It was hard to miss._

_Shortly after returning to Destiny Islands after Xemnas was destroyed, Sora had taken Kairi aside and they'd talked for a while. Not about anything in particular, but by the time the sun went down, Sora was sure he didn't like Kairi anymore. He loved her. Then she told him that she loved him too. That was that. They tried not to flaunt it in front of Riku, but spirits had been so high lately, it was hard not to share the love. The war was drawing to a close. Xehanort's loyalists were going AWOL and surrendering by the masses, and peace negotiations were well underway. Fortunately, Riku didn't appear to mind too much._

"_Come on." Sora dropped his arm from Kairi's shoulders and quickened his pace to catch up to Riku. "We're gonna be late for the meeting."_

"_Oh yeah, Kingdom Hearts forbid we miss Leon's report on violence in Wonderland." Riku chortled._

"_Behave." Kairi swatted him on the arm. "Just because the bad guys are…playing cards…doesn't mean you shouldn't take them any less seriously."_

_Riku rolled his eyes and exchanged a look with Sora, who snorted into his fist._

"_Well, no matter." Kairi locked her hands behind her back, swaying behind them. "I'll catch up with you guys afterwards, okay?"_

"_Yeah, we'll see you later." Sora waved at her._

_She smiled and knocked Sora and Riku's shoulders. Riku smiled back and Sora held her eyes a moment longer. She winked and turned curtly on her heel, sauntering back the way they'd come. Sora and Riku exchanged a look and kept walking on._

_The Allied Headquarter building stood tall and stark against the skyline of Radiant Garden. It was mostly glass and steel, with floor-to-ceiling windows that reflected the blue light during the day and was blacker than the sky at night. It had been constructed to be intimidating; big, black, and ominous. Sora had never really seen the intimidation. To him, it was just another giant building. Then again, he wasn't a Heartless follower, so maybe that made a difference._

_They reached the glass doors and Riku swept the door open._

"_Ladies, first." He beckoned._

_Sora stuck his tongue out and glanced back to Kairi, who had stopped to talk to Biggs and Wedge. She was laughing and talking like there wasn't a care in the world. If these negotiations went smoothly, in a few months there wouldn't be a care in the world._

_Riku followed his gaze and rolled his eyes, grabbing him the scruff of the neck, "All right, come on, loverboy. You can schmooze with your princess later."_

_Sora laughed and headed inside the cool interior of the building. "Hey, after this is all over, we need to hook you up with somebody."_

"_Oh please, I can get my own dates."_

"_Yeah, but you don't—"_

_Before Sora was able to expound on the statement, his shoulder collided with another body. Stumbling, Sora turned in time to catch the elbow of the falling girl. She staggered but caught her balance. Mumbling, she straightened and looked at Sora._

"_Watch it—Oh, sorry, sir." She straightened her uniform and Sora recognized the symbols on her jacket as those of a private. She looked from Sora to Riku. "I'm very sorry, majors." She nodded and hastily maneuvered around them, hurrying through the doors._

_Riku followed her with his eyes and looked to Sora, who slowly looked back to him. After a few seconds, they looked away to avoid the attack of laughter._

"_Well, hey, look on the bright side," Sora said as they walked toward the elevator. "That private back there was checking you out."_

_Riku punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Shut up."_


	2. Fortress

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine. Mwahaha, second chapter! So I slipped some exposition in this one, because I realized that I'm always talking about the 'Alliance' and the 'Council' and never explain what the Hell I'm talking about. I've only been called out on it once, but I don't like not making sense, so…yeah…Any and all constructive feedback is always appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Two: Fortress**

No matter how determined Sora was to get up and get answers, his body had other ideas.

By the time he woke up, it was a quarter past three in the afternoon and he felt like his bones had been packed full of lead, making any movement impossible. Kairi seemed to have made it her top priority to spend every waking moment in his room in the hospital wing with him. He was sure somewhere deep down he was appreciative, but at the moment, he just wanted to be left alone.

Was that too fucking much to ask? It was bad enough that more than half of the Council was dead, and those that had survived were scarred and shredded, but did she have to be here, mother henning and fussing over him, all perfect and beautiful and innocent? Honestly.

Sora maintained his silent status even as nurses came and went, changing the dressing on his shoulder and his hand and checking his other wounds and vitals. Some of them attempted cheerful small talk, but he didn't reward any of them with a single syllable. Why should he? It didn't escape his notice that he hadn't seen any the other survivors. They were all stuck in beds somewhere else in the wing, either by force from medical staff or by necessity from their bodies.

The pain killers had long worn off, but the damned morphine pump was set on a fixed dose. No matter how many times he pressed the button, the discomfort didn't ease. The discomfort would have eased a lot faster if Kairi had stopped trying to cheer him up and had stopped looking like some broken, abandoned sob story. What did she want? Huh? A smile? A hug? No. Just—just no.

"Who's not dead?" He asked.

Kairi looked at him so fast her neck cracked. "What?"

Sora swallowed slowly. "Who survived?"

The excitement in her eyes upon hearing him finally speak died quickly and her shoulders dropped. "Leon and Tifa, Belle, King Mickey, and Hercules. The others—"

"I know what happened to the others." Sora said briskly.

Kairi sat in the chair next to his bed, folding and unfolding her hands across her lap, fidgeting. "Queen Minnie is holding it together, but some other representatives are already struggling for power. They—They want to declare war."

"We're already in a war." Sora hissed.

The door opened slowly and they both glanced over to see Donald and Goofy peeking in. The two warriors' eyes lit up upon seeing Sora awake.

"Sora!" Goofy smiled and hurried over to his side.

Donald was more hesitant, but no less enthusiastic. "You're awake!"

They were okay. That was a relief. While he couldn't coerce a true Sora Smile to his face, he managed a small smile and moved his good arm around Goofy's back when his friend hugged him. Maybe they could better fill him in on what was happening in the Alliance. Kairi was still in a state of shock, and Sora didn't think he could handle her teary-eyed attempts to comfort him. He didn't need comfort. He needed answers.

"Hey, I'm glad you guys are okay." He responded belatedly.

Goofy and Donald beamed at him, standing on the other side of the bed from Kairi. The smiles didn't reach their eyes, and Sora knew they were trying to maintain a happy façade for him. Exhaling, he looked down at his mutilated hand, and then immediately back up at their faces.

"What's going on?" He asked, not caring how toneless he sounded.

Goofy's grin faltered, but Donald just gave up, shoulders drooping, beak flattening. Kairi looked from one to the other, biting the corner of her lip.

"Just tell me. Please." He said softly.

"It's not good, Sora." Donald started slowly. "The entire building is just rubble. The fires are still burning, but so far they haven't salvaged anything. The Queen has taken control of the remaining Council, but the other systems are already breathing down her neck, trying to make her appoint new representatives."

Sora pinched the bridge of his nose. "How is she holding up?"

Goofy stood straighter, "Queen Minnie is strong and brave. She's handling it the best she can under the circumstances."

Sora looked at him swiftly. "The circumstances? What about Mickey?"

Donald sighed, "He hasn't woken up yet. They said he's in a coma."

Kairi stood up. "That's enough, guys. Sora, you need to rest—"

"I've been resting for four days now." He replied.

Kairi pursed her lips, "And you're still bed ridden. Please, Sora, let your body heal before you try to shoulder all of this weight."

Sora knew she was just trying to help, but didn't she realize how dangerous and time-restrained the world was becoming? There wasn't enough time for him to lie around and take it easy. They had to take action now. He rolled his head to face Donald and Goofy.

"Who did this?"

No one answered him.

"Who did this?" He repeated, slowly and deliberately.

Donald and Goofy exchanged looks. Donald sent an apologetic glance to Kairi before looking at Sora and responding. "We don't know yet."

"What?" Sora sat up.

Pain riddled across his shoulder, making his breath come faster. Kairi and Goofy immediately came to his aid, easing him back. Kairi turned to call for a nurse. Sora grabbed her elbow.

"No. Don't." He looked back to Donald. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

Donald dropped his gaze, "It's been chaos since the attack, Sora. Whoever attacked us, they haven't contacted us in any way. No additional threats or communication. The Council is in no state to maintain order, and the Queen—this is too big for one person to handle."

Sora narrowed his eyes. "We'll see about that."

He pulled the blankets aside and started to swing his legs to the edge of the bed. Kairi gasped and Goofy grabbed Sora's ankle. Donald held his hands up placatingly.

"No, Sora, please—"

"Just take it easy—"

"We're handling this the best we can—"

Sora went rigid, staring at them fiercely. "Most of the Council is dead. The representatives are dead. Headquarters is gone. No one knows who did it, and you're telling me to take it easy?"

"Yes." Kairi cut in. "Tifa is the head seat of the Council right now. She's working with the Queen to keep some semblance of order."

"Leon—"

"He woke up yesterday, but only for a few minutes."

"What shape is Tifa in?"

Kairi grimaced at his words, but answered. "One leg is broken, her ankle is twisted, she broke a few ribs, and she lost her left eye."

Sora double took. "Lost as in—"

Kairi looked at him incredulously. "As in her left eye is gone."

Sora nodded slowly, "What about Leon? You said he woke up."

Goofy interrupted. "His leg was damaged badly, but he didn't lose it. One of his lungs was crushed and he lost a lot of blood, but he's pulling through."

Sora ran a finger along the edge of the bandage running down his cheekbone. "Hercules."

If anybody had survived relatively healthy, it was definitely him.

"He's enforcing Tifa's orders." Goofy answered immediately.

"Good." At least somebody was doing something around here. Sora inwardly grimaced at the harshness his thoughts were taking.

Kairi was rubbing her forehead. "Can we talk about something besides the attack?"

Sora averted his eyes. "Fine. Who else is taking action?"

Kairi groaned, but Sora ignored her.

Goofy started counting off on his fingers. "Phil, Yao, Chin-Po, and Ling are in Radiant Garden, leading the rescue and recovery team. Meg, Sally, and Daisy are standing as acting ambassadors, visiting the other worlds to ream in more information and spread comfort."

Again with the comfort thing. Sora couldn't wrap his mind around how comfort was supposed to make anything better. Maybe he could have understood before, but that was before.

Goofy continued. "Beast took Belle back to Enchanted Castle last night. She had a concussion and a broken collar bone, and she had to have her knee replaced. Mulan and Jane are…making arrangements."

Sora flinched. Right. That. He didn't want to think about that. He'd think about what the funerals meant later. He had living people he needed to protect.

"The army—" He started.

"We've been taking care of that." Donald cut him off sternly.

Sora rubbed his eyes exasperatedly but didn't press further. It was obvious that they didn't want to elaborate further, in topic or conversation. He didn't feel much up to prying for more information anyway.

"Thanks for telling me, guys." He said tiredly after a moment. Their shoulders visibly sagged with relief at this signaling of the end of the interrogation. "I'm glad you're okay."

Goofy wiped his eyes. "We were worried about ya, Sora."

Donald nodded once, stiffened, and folded his arms. "I wasn't. I knew you'd be fine."

Sora offered a look of gratitude. "Yeah. I—I think I want to be alone for a while…to digest some of this?"

Donald and Goofy immediately straightened and nodded.

"Sure, yeah, whatever you need." Donald said.

"Don't hesitate to ask." Goofy added.

"Thanks, guys." Sora said quietly.

Kairi stood up too. "I'm going to check on Tifa."

"You should get some sleep too." He suggested.

Kairi rubbed her arms. "Yeah, probably. I'll be back later."

She looked like she wanted to hug him or hold him or something, but she also looked timid and settled for just touching his wrist before leaving with Donald and Goofy, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door clicked closed, Sora sagged on the bed, reclining his head over the top of the pillows and biting his lip. Damn measured morphine doses. He snatched up the pump and depressed the nozzle. By some miracle, the pain killer pulsed down the line and greeted his blood. Vainly attempting to stifle a groan of relief, he closed his eyes.

No leads. No one had any idea who had orchestrated this attack. Even stranger, no group had stepped forward to take the spotlight for it. In all honesty, it was a genius work. They had been taken completely off guard. The Heartless weren't smart enough to put something like this together, and the Nobodies weren't strong enough and didn't have the numbers to back it up. That narrowed it down to humans.

The Heartless and Organization XIII had had their share of followers and loyalists. Human beings had betrayed their own race, their own realm of light, to join forces with that evil filth. Some of those groups were still out there. Their numbers were small and dated. The Alliance hadn't taken the fanatics and small band of terrorists seriously. They hadn't been a threat.

Well, how about now?

Over the course of the next two hours, Sora lay as still as possible, minimizing soreness and pain, mentally listing off all of the right wing groups that would have had the balls to launch an assault on the most powerful organization in the realm. The list was short and lacking. He considered that perhaps the groups had joined together, but that was a vain effort. Heartless and Nobodies hated each other, as did their followers. Their mutual goal would have drowned in their contempt for each other.

What had the Council missed? What had Sora missed?

Overthinking was making him fidgety, and after a while Sora pried his eyes open to find his room still empty. Nobody had snuck in with some valiant thought of 'watching over him'. That was a relief. Gritting his teeth, he abstained from releasing another doze of morphine. He needed to talk to the others, preferably while not under the influence of drugs.

He punched at the buttons on the bed until the frame shifted, lifting him so that he was almost sitting totally upright. Hating how weak he felt, he moved his legs to hang off the edge of the mattress. His knee was still throbbing and painful, but it would hold his weight. His left arm hung uselessly beside him. It had fallen asleep earlier and he couldn't move it without his shoulder aching. His right hand…just no.

Sora had just bent over to stand off the bed when a shrill voice sounded behind him.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't be up!" The nurse bustled in, fussing and starting to hustle him back into bed.

Sora shook his head. "No, I need to see Tifa."

"Miss Lockhart is in no condition to see visitors, and you are in no condition to go see her!" The nurse squabbled.

Sora groaned in frustration and thought back. Riku had been in the hospital a few months ago and had never had this problem with nurses. Of course, his friend had either flirted or threatened his way out, and Sora was in no mood to flirt.

With this in mind, he glared at the nurse, "I'm going to see Tifa."

The nurse met his eyes and stilled. She was a large woman, not one to feel threatened by a guy who could barely sit up, but she was hesitating. That gave Sora the opportunity he needed.

"Take out the IV and the morphine. I don't need them." He said measuredly.

The nurse narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, you do, son."

Sora tilted his head. "Fine, if you won't—" He reached over to pull the tubes out himself.

"All right, all right, fine, just stop it." She swore under her breath before removing the lines from his limbs. "Take it easy."

"I'm done taking it easy." He said hoarsely.

He sat still just long enough for her to put bandages over where the IV had been, and then he was gently moving her aside, leaning off the bed to stand on his own. She started to steady him, but Sora waved her off.

"Thank you, now please, just let me be."

"Honey…"

Sora looked at her flatly, "I'm sure there are patients around here who need you a lot more than me."

She didn't argue, just bit her lower lip and sighed. "Do you need anything else?"

Sora started to shake his head, but decided against it. "No. Now go."

The nurse exhaled and turned, "Yes, sir." She left.

Sora waited for the room to stop shaking before he straightened, keeping one hand on the edge of the bed to steady himself. His legs were stiff and sore, especially his knee, but they held, and he thanked the cosmos for small miracles. Now if he could just walk from here to wherever Tifa was. Even though his friends had told him that the Queen was in control, Sora knew she was acting as a figurehead while Tifa seized the reins.

Limping over to the closet, he found scrubs hanging on the rail and tugged them off the hangar, changing out of the hospital gown with more stiffness and clumsiness than he would have liked. It took roughly fifteen minutes to get dressed, and that in itself exhausted him, but there was no way he was getting back in that bed until he knew everything that was going on.

The hospital wing of Disney Castle was as large and extravagant as the rest of it, but Sora found that the longer he walked, the easier it became. The aching in his legs worked itself out and he managed with only a slight limp. After another ten minutes of haggling with the nurse at the desk, he got the room number and made the slow trek to Leon's room, where he was told Tifa had been for the last two hours.

The door was closed and Sora knocked twice. He didn't bother waiting for an answer before he opened the door and stepped inside. Their voices immediately fell quiet and he looked across the room. Leon was sitting up in bed, looking groggy but aware, and pissed off as always. Tifa was in a wheelchair beside the bed, the left side of her face heavily bandaged.

"Sora." Tifa spoke first, her voice raspy and dry.

Leon locked gazes with Sora. "How are you feeling?"

Sora could have laughed at them both. They looked so concerned, but surely they looked twice as bad as he did. Might as well humor them. He lifted his good shoulder in a one-armed shrug and held his hand close to his chest.

"I've been worse. You look better than me."

They looked doubtful about that, but didn't press the matter. Sora refused to limp as he crossed the room, sinking into the chair on the other side of Leon's bed.

"So what's been happening?" He asked flatly.

Leon exhaled, fatigue written all over his face. "They're calling themselves the Fractured Circle."

Sora sat up, all attention on him now. "They?"

Tifa knit her fingers together. "Contact was made yesterday. A video transmission addressed to Queen Minnie. The man on the tape claimed to be the leader of the group, calling himself Corbin Franks. The demands are unconditional surrender."

"Or what?" Sora demanded, looking from Tifa to Leon.

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. "It doesn't matter because we're not surrendering."

"You're damn right we're not." Sora replied coolly. "Or what?"

Tifa licked her lips, "Franks said the attack last week was a warm up. He claimed to have an arsenal rigged up already in the event that we don't surrender."

"Bluff." Leon interrupted. "This was a one-wave operation. No single group against the Alliance could amass enough ammunition to launch an attack that massive and still have some left over for 'or what'."

Tifa swiveled her neck to look at him. "Then what? We just ignore the threat from the group that just single handedly blew the Council half to Hell?"

"No, but we have to be smart about how we counter." Leon reproached. "We can't just rush the Fractured Circle, half cocked with no idea what we're up against."

Sora leaned in, "You know where they are?"

Leon maintained an expressionless face. "We have presumptions, but no solid leads."

"Of course not." Sora muttered, sitting back in the chair.

The room fell to silence for several seconds, with only the soft thrum of the air conditioning flowing from the vents overhead. Questions were running rampant through Sora's brain, but he couldn't assemble them into coherent thought to ask them. So far all he had was secondhand information, passed along word of mouth. While Tifa and Leon's mouths were the most trustworthy he knew, he had to hear it from the source. He looked them both in the eyes.

"I need to see that tape."

**..:--X--:..**

_Sora and Riku arrived just as the rest of the Council of the Alliance was sitting to begin the meeting. It was bizarre, looking around at them all now, to know that just three years ago, most of these people had been the amateur Restoration Committee. After the war had erupted into full swing, the Committee had mutated into the Alliance, and the Council was appointed to act as a military government of sorts._

_The Council convened in the large auditorium-style hall near the heart of the Headquarter Building. Rows upon rows of seats lined in descending circles to center on the table, where the head seat of the Council, King Mickey, sat with Queen Minnie._

_Representatives from all of the Allied systems were seated in the rows surrounding the head table, one person per system. The earlier meetings had included the Princesses of Heart, but due to their ambassador schedules and matters of the state, the princesses met at their own time, at a much smaller convention. _

_As Keybearers, Sora and Riku helped to fill the front row of the first circle, facing the head table. Their ability to summon the Keyblade ranked them as two of the top Allied defenders, along with Leon, Cloud, Yuffie, Cid, and Tifa. Aerith was in the next row, as Radiant Garden's representative._

_Craning his neck, Sora glanced back and caught Belle's eye. She smiled and winked, turning her attention back to the conversation she was carrying with Geppetto. While Belle was a Princess of Heart, she was also standing representative until another could be appointed. He winked back at her when Cid elbowed him in the shoulder._

"_Hey, watch it." Sora rubbed his shoulder._

_Cid frowned his way through a smile. _

"_I'm just greeting my fellow freedom fighters." Sora swept an arm around innocently._

_Riku snorted on his other side, but as Cid started to glare at him, he ducked to quickly engage Yuffie in conversation, leaving Sora stranded. He offered Cid his most innocent smile._

_Cid clocked him across the back of the head affectionately and started toward his own seat. "Pay attention, smartass."_

_Aerith leaned forward, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Don't mind him. He quit smoking yesterday."_

_A few seats over, Tifa stretched in her seat. "You'd think this war would have caused a lot more people to take up smoking instead of quitting it."_

_Riku turned around and faced her. "You'd think negotiations for this war would have caused a lot more people to take up smoking."_

_Tifa made a face at him and on his other side, Yuffie burst out laughing. Cloud sat on Tifa's other side, looking uncomfortable sitting so closely between Tifa and Cid, who had his arms folded and looking as sociable as a bulldog with a hernia. Sora could barely see Leon on Cid's other side, looking just as happy to be there as Cid._

"_Psst!"_

_Sora turned and followed the hiss to see Merlin waving at him from two rows up, sitting with the Sultan of Agrabah and the mayor of Twilight Town, whose name Sora didn't know. Jack Skellington sat behind the old wizard, raising an eyebrow at him._

"_Hello there, boys! How are you this morning?" Merlin chirped._

_Sora waved back, "Great, how are you?"_

_Merlin lifted a hand to his mouth as though to whisper, but chirped just as loudly. "I'd be a lot better if that general from Land of Dragons wasn't so touty!"_

_Sora followed his pointing to where General Shang was trying to ignore Tarzan, who was poking at his armor with fascination. Sora waved an arm dismissively._

"_He's always like that."_

_Riku punched his arm and Sora spun around._

"_What is it with people and punching me today?!" He hissed._

_Riku pointed toward the head table, where King Mickey and Queen Minnie were making their entrance. The rest of the representatives fell quiet as well as the procession entered. Sora punched Riku back in revenge and wished Donald and Goofy came to these meetings. Then at least he could entertain himself with bugging Donald instead of listening to the political droning of peace negotiations._

_As far as he was concerned, there could never be peace with the Heartless or the Nobodies. They had to be wiped out. The people who sided with the Heartless, though, they could be worked with. Not quickly and not trustingly, but it was possible._

_King Mickey entered with all the grace a giant mouse could, and Queen Minnie followed after him in equal style, welcoming but with a royal air that Sora couldn't quite pull off. And he'd tried._

_The ambassadors for the anti-Allied groups, the enemy basically, were expected to be escorted into the meeting hall two hours into the meeting. That's when the true continuance of the peace negotiations would pick up. So far there hadn't been any scuffle with them, but it only took one incident to put the lock down on the hall and add two tons of tension to the already uncomfortable sessions._

_As the quiet continued to still the chamber, King Mickey remained standing as Queen Minnie sat down. He looked around at the gathered representatives and soldiers and his gaze was hard to read. Sora thought he looked far too serious. The war was practically over. Time to lighten up, buddy. The king ignored Sora's mental telegram and lifted the gavel at his side._

"_The Council of the Allied Republic of Kingdom Hearts is now in session." He announced, his high pitched voice echoing through the chamber as he clacked the gavel against the table. _

_Sora was sure his voice was meant to be so much more intimidating and ominous, but…fail. Grinning despite himself, Sora looked down the row past Riku. Everyone else looked so serious. Couldn't they crack a smile? After four merciless weeks of negotiations, today could be the day they reached an agreement. Sour pusses._

_Riku caught him staring down the row and lifted a hand, wiggling his fingers to break Sora's focus. Sora blinked and looked at his friend. Riku rolled his eyes in his annoyingly self righteous way and pointed to the head table, the epitome of the superior Keybearer._

_Sora stuck his tongue out at him and sat back in his seat, already restless after just five minutes. The first matter of business was…yep…violence in Wonderland. Leon stood to give his report and Sora snickered, pressing his fist against his teeth to stifle the giggles._

_It didn't help that Riku was doing the same thing right beside him._


	3. Ember

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine. The Fractured Circle, Corbin Franks, and Tabaeus McCallister are also mine. The muse decided to be kind to me this week. Unfortunately, with all the ideas and sub-stories this fic will be developing, I'm really worried about my ability to make it work. I lost my outlines for the next two installments. Yes, it's gonna be a trilogy…if I remember everything I wrote down. Moral of the story, I keep my muse just healthy enough to give me ideas. Otherwise, it'd be running rampant and driving me insane. Stupid overactive imagination. Anyway…rambling…Enjoy this chapter. Any and all constructive feedback is always appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Three: Ember**

"Good day, Your Highness."

The voice was thin and high pitched, but definitely masculine.

"No doubt by now you aren't the first to view this little video."

The soft, breathy tones sent a raspy feedback over the speakers.

"My name is Corbin Franks, and I am the leader of the Fractured Circle. Believe what you will, but that is my name and who I am."

The screen remained black, as though aimed at a dark curtain.

"I am also the one who helped to lower the skyline of your precious Radiant Garden." A pause, as though for dramatic effect. "I am the voice of those who cannot speak out against your Alliance's overbearing crimes. You think you are so righteous, but your ends are just as cold as ours."

The black was pulled away in the form of a curtain and the speaker became visible in the center of the screen. Corbin Franks was revealed to be a wiry man, with tangled, dirty blond hair hanging to his shoulders, framing a gaunt face with watery black eyes.

"But I am not sending this message to enact a debate on the nature of right and wrong. No, Your Grace, I am merely delivering an ultimatum."

Corbin Franks folded high knuckled fingers under his chin.

"You have one week to mobilize all of the firepower in Allied Radiant Garden and deliver it to my people, or what happened last week will add up to all of a bottle rocket."

A low chuckle built up in his throat.

"Our numbers are vast, Your Majesty. You see what happened when you underestimated us last time. It would be unhealthy to repeat your mistake."

Last time?

"Release red smoke from your topmost tower within 36 hours to confirm that you accept these terms. If you do not, I will have no choice but to pursue more aggressive actions."

What the Hell did that mean?

"I truly hope you choose the former option. Hasn't enough blood been spilt already? Consider it. Ta."

The screen went dark. The room fell sill and quiet.

Sora sat staring at the computer screen, chewing on his thumbnail. The only other people in the Royal Library with him were Tifa, Donald, and Queen Minnie. They were subtly watching him, waiting for his response. Queen Minnie sighed softly, pushing the laptop closed, giving Sora nothing to stare at.

"When did this arrive?" He asked the Queen.

She let her hand rest on the laptop. "Six o'clock yesterday evening."

Sora involuntarily looked at the clock on the wall. It read a quarter past four. Most of their time had already burned away.

"Have you—"

"No." Donald cut in indignantly. "There's no way we can agree to that kook."

Tifa leaned sideways in her wheelchair, "We have less than 14 hours to figure out what we're going to do."

Sora sat up, looking at her. "There's nothing to figure out. We send up the red smoke."

They all looked at him strangely.

Then…

"What?"

"You do realize that means we're agreeing?"

"Have you lost your mind?"

Sora closed his eyes briefly. "It means we're agreeing to hand over our Radiant Garden arsenal. It does not," He lifted his good hand, "mean that we're actually going to do it."

Donald folded his arms in a huff, "Well I knew that."

Queen Minnie still looked flustered, and Tifa just studied Sora questioningly.

He stood up to face them all. "After we agree to his terms, he'll have to send another communication, instructions for where to send all the firepower. That buys us more time to get ready."

"For what?" Queen Minnie asked.

Sora narrowed his eyes, "A counter attack."

Tifa groaned in exasperation, "Sora, try to think clearly here. We can't launch a counter attack, not in the state we're in. The Alliance is still reeling from last week. The new representatives and Council members are being elected tonight. The other systems are questioning our stability, and the rest of the state is already terrified. How can you expect us to be able to rally together an attack?"

"We still have an army." Sora replied, looking at each of them individually. "Franks wants all of our ammunition. We give it to him, the old fashioned way."

Donald gaped, "You aren't serious?"

Sora looked at him, deadpan. "We can't be soft about this."

"We're not being soft, we're being safe." Tifa interrupted.

"Safe? Look at yourself, look at Leon, look at me." Sora said calmly, lifting his mutilated hand. "Is this safe enough for you, Tifa?"

Tifa narrowed her good eye and Queen Minnie stepped forward. "That's enough. We need to think about this more indepthly before we jump to a decision."

Sora dropped his shoulders. "Fine, but while we're sitting in here, twiddling our thumbs, the Broken Polygram is out there conniving, plotting up ways to destroy what's left of us. I'm sorry, but I can't allow that to happen."

"This isn't a one-man show, Sora." Tifa reproached hotly.

Sora turned to her. "I know that, but we can't approach this like we would a normal attack. This was a terrorist attempt."

"Attempt?" Donald lifted his eyebrows, "I'd say they succeeded."

Sora pointed at him, "Exactly. This Corbin Franks—these Fractured Circle bastards—We can't go easy on them. We can't negotiate with monsters. They're worse than the Heartless because they chose to do this. The Heartless are just mindless creatures."

Tifa studied him hard, "They're human beings."

"So was Cid, and Yuffie, and Aerith. So was Cloud." He said softly.

Tifa flinched and glared at him. "I'm aware of that."

Sora half turned away from the three of them. "Well, there you go then."

Not caring if they continued the meeting without him, he pushed open one of the massive library doors, sliding out into the expansive corridor, closing the door behind him. He was mildly surprised to see Jane loitering outside, swinging her arms back and forth. She jumped when he stepped into the hallway.

"Oh, Sora, hello." She greeted.

Her voice was cheerful, but her eyes were bloodshot and she looked pale. She looked like she hadn't slept or eaten since the attack. She looked shell shocked.

"Hi, Jane." He replied, not attempting cheerfulness anymore.

She swallowed and shifted from foot to foot. "Is the meeting over?"

"I don't know." He lifted one shoulder. "How, uh, how are you doing?"

She sighed, lifting a hand to her head. He could see a reservoir of emotions and tears rolling in her eyes, but she sniffed once and offered a halfhearted smile to him. "Not good, but I'm working on it."

Sora felt his heart grow heavier at her forced smile. She was trying. He had to appreciate that.

"You should get those bandages changed." She indicated his hand.

He looked down and saw that he was bleeding through the dressing wrapped around his right hand. He studied it dully and looked back to Jane, not wanting to linger much longer.

"Eavesdropping?" He nodded toward the door.

Jane started, "No, no, the door are too thick." Sighing, she folded her arms across her chest. "I'm escorting Lieutenant Lockhart. It's hard to work a wheelchair with broken ribs." She explained.

"Right." Sora glanced down the empty hall. "I've got to get going."

"Oh, of course."

"Good luck with…things."

"You too."

Sora awkwardly turned and headed down to the Hospital Wing. As much as he hated to admit it, he did need to get his hand looked at. It definitely wouldn't help matters to end up with gangrene and lose the rest of his fingers or even his hand.

The nurse he'd argued with earlier didn't look at all surprised to see him back. She took one look at his hand and turned on her heel, stalking into the nearest exam room. Sora begrudgingly followed. Instead of giving him an earful, the woman just instructed him to sit and set his arm on the table. An unfriendly silence settled between them and Sora didn't watch as she worked, removing the dressing, checking and cleaning the wounds and stitches, and redressing his hand.

He used to be such a people person.

"Here." She broke the silence, pushing a bottle of pills into his hand. "Antibiotics. They're very strong, so only take them twice a day, maximum."

"Thanks." He said absently, standing.

"Colonel Leonhart wants to speak with you." The nurse said tersely.

"Okay."

He needed to talk to Leon as well.

Sora pushed the bottle of antibiotics into his pocket, making his way down the hall to Leon's room. Hercules and a girl Sora didn't know were already inside. They all looked over as Sora entered without preamble.

"Sora." Leon still looked awful, but not as disoriented. "I've been needing to talk to you."

"I saw the video." Sora said flatly. "With Tifa, Donald, and the Queen."

Leon pursed his lips. "I know, and I know about your plan to counter attack."

Sora spotted the cell phone on the bedside table. Tifa.

"Unless you have a better suggestion on what to do…" Sora let the statement linger.

Leon looked exhaustedly at him. "No, I don't."

Sora's ears perked at that. Finally, somebody was seeing reason around here. Across the room, Hercules looked like he wanted to add something, but he refrained.

"As you know," Leon continued, "The new representatives and Council members are being appointed in a few hours. The Queen, Tifa, and Hercules are presiding over the elections."

Sora didn't respond. Leon sensed his impatience.

"I suppose you think it's a waste of time, so you don't have to go."

"I wasn't intending to."

"You can't go in all guns blazing, Sora."

"I don't intend to."

"I don't like it, but if you insist on this counter attack, remember that no matter how quickly we defeat the Fractured Circle, we still have to get up the next day and pick everything back up. We don't need another war."

Leon was being way too supportive about this. Sora wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth though, so he nodded in acknowledgement and looked up.

"Is that all?"

Leon narrowed his eyes at Sora. "One more thing." He glanced at the girl on his other side. "This is Private Tabaeus McCallister. I'm assigning her to work under you."

"I'm not a babysitter." Sora replied flatly.

The private looked just as unsettled at her assignment, but she held her tongue, merely sliding Leon a bewildered look.

Leon's gaze hardened. "Good thing she's house trained then."

Private McCallister took a step forward. "I am fully qualified to assist—"

Leon lifted a hand and she quieted. He narrowed his eyes at Sora. "We're not looking to wipe out the entire group. We need to get this Corbin Franks guy and find out what he's really after."

Sora straightened indignantly. Leon had to know Sora was way beyond the POW bit, but he humored the Colonel and didn't argue further.

"Fine." He said quietly. "I assume the catch is she'll be reporting everything to you?"

The corner of Leon's mouth quirked into a grin. "You know what they say about assuming."

Sora looked over to Hercules, who shrugged innocently.

"Well, I see I'm outnumbered." Sora cast a sidelong glance to Leon. "I'm sending up the red smoke tomorrow morning. No sense in confirming anything until we've thoroughly used up our time." He threw a haphazard thumbs up to Hercules. "Good luck at the election tonight."

Hercules nodded seriously, "You too, with…whatever you're doing."

Sora took his leave and was mildly annoyed but not surprised when McCallister followed him out.

"Look, private." He turned to face her. "Just because you've been 'assigned' to help me doesn't mean you get to stalk me."

McCallister didn't meet his gaze. "Noted, sir."

Sora frowned, "Whatever."

He turned and started walking down the hall. So did she.

"Seriously, don't you have other private duties to attend to?" He turned on her again.

She squared her shoulders but still didn't hold his eyes. "You are my round the clock assignment, sir."

Groaning, Sora glared at her. "Fine, then, as your commanding officer, stop following me."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn't. Good girl.

"Look," He started, "I don't need help. Really. Leon just wants to keep a hand in all the ink. So…" He trailed off but then got an idea. "All right, I'll play. Here's your first order. I want you to find something for me."

She straightened, the picture of obedience. "Yes, sir?"

He glanced at the clock on the wall behind the nurse's station. "Find something that burns red."

**..:--X--:..**

"_Mercy is not the solution." The mayor of Twilight Town stated defiantly._

"_So, what, we're supposed to waste them all and hope they get the message?" Yuffie countered heatedly._

_General Shang stood up now. "I agree with Mayor Hodge. The Heartless are monsters. If we continue to just shepherd them out of our towns and villages, they're just going to keep coming back. We need to exterminate them."_

_Tifa turned to face the man. "Do you realize how much manpower and mobilization that would require? A lot more than we have, that's how much."_

"_Then what do you propose, Lieutenant?" Mayor Hodge said condescendingly._

_Cloud sat up straighter. "She's saying a half-assed effort won't cut it."_

_Mayor Hodge fixed beady eyes on Cloud. "The only alternative to wiping them out is lying down and letting them walk all over us. I'm sorry, sir, but that will not do."_

"_I'm not saying lie down and take it," Cloud's voice and expression remained flat. "But getting rid of the Heartless will take more than just barging in and throwing all of our weight at them."_

_Sora nudged Riku's arm. "I wish I could do that."_

_Riku, who'd been frowning at the mayor, blinked. "What?"_

"_Cloud. No expression, no reaction, no tone in his voice. It makes people take you seriously." Sora tilted his head. "I wish I could channel my inner-Cloud."_

_Riku quirked an eyebrow at him. "Uh huh. Okay, zen-man, why don't you start out by channeling your inner-attention span and make a contribution to the argument?"_

_Sora waved a hand apathetically, "Dude, they're going to be arguing about this long after this meeting is over. There is no one solution. If you blow every single Heartless away, something just as bad, or worse, is going to take their place. But if we don't blow them away, they will continue to be a thorn in the Alliance's side."_

"_The Do Nothing Plan?" Riku considered sarcastically, "Yeah, that always works."_

"_No, no, man." Sora sat up, "A compromise. There is no fell swoop. You got to chip away at the enemy until they implode on themselves. Anarchy will out."_

_Riku eyed him for a moment, "Stop trying to sound like you know what you're talking about."_

_Sora blinked, shrugged, and sat back, "Sorry, Mr. Dateless."_

"_Are you seriously bringing that up again? I swear, if you had boobs, you'd be a woman."_

"_I didn't say anything." Sora said innocently._

"_Loser."_

"_Jerk."_

"_Bitch."_

_Sora clamped his mouth shut and Riku grinned triumphantly._

"_Yeah," Sora muttered, "We'll see who's the bitch when it's Saturday night and I'm out with Kairi while you're sitting at home, alone, watching Girls Gone—"_

"_Something to add, Keybearer?" Mayor Hodge called him out._

_Sora felt blood rush to his face as the arguing parties all turned their attention to him. Riku leaned as far from Sora as he could, nearly sprawling across Yuffie. A confirming opinion from one of the Keyblade Masters would put a massive sway on the vote of action. After all, the Keybearers would be the ones out there executing the plan._

"_Nope, I'm…I'm good." Sora offered a thumbs up._

_Mayor Hodge lifted an eyebrow and Tifa frowned._

_Leon stood up. "I think this has gone on far enough. An argument over how to deal with the Heartless has turned into a bickering contest." _

_Cid snorted at the mayor's affronted expression. "More eloquently, stop waving your dicks around so we can actually get something done this decade."_

_Clearing his throat, Leon addressed the representatives. "I propose we move on to the next matter."_

_General Shang clenched his fists. "All matters addressed by this Council are directly connected to the matter at hand. We have to get rid of the Heartless before we have any chance of resolving peace."_

_Tifa threw out an arm. "We've got ambassadors coming in twenty minutes to help negotiate peace. They don't want this war any more than we do."_

"_They," Shang stressed the word, "are humans who voluntarily turned against us, capable of reason and thought. I'm not talking about them, I'm talking about the Heartless themselves."_

"_Only the Keybearers can truly vanquish the Heartless ones." Merlin input casually._

_Again, all focus shot to Sora and Riku. The two boys exchanged a look. Sora lifted his shoulders as if to say 'what are you gonna do, buddy?' and stood up._

"_Guys, listen." He held his hands out plainly. "True, only the Keyblade can, what'd you say, vanquish the Heartless. But, we're just two guys." He gesticulated between himself and Riku. "We're talking about several hundred thousand monsters, here. What happens when you fight fire with fire?" He paused. "You get one big ass fire that burns everything down."_

_A few of the representatives winced at his brusque wording, but didn't interrupt._

_Sora looked directly to the Royal table. "Your Majesties, I just want the war to be over. We're all tired and we're all stretched way too thin. We can't launch a new offensive with the limited forces we have, but we can't afford to continue at the rate we're going now."_

_He caught Cid and Cloud watching him steadily, appearing neither for nor against him. Yuffie just blinked at him and Tifa and Leon frowned. Mayor Hodge folded his arms. The rest of the representatives alternated between watching Sora and watching the other Council members._

_King Mickey watched Sora bemusedly for a moment before his face split into a knowing smile. "Fair enough. So what exactly are you suggesting?"_

_Sora swallowed. "I think that we should—"_

_All sound was suddenly sucked from the chamber, and all light was ripped away as a black mass rushed into the meeting hall. Sora hardly had time to register something warm and wet splattering across his face as awareness fled and blackness flooded his consciousness._

**..:--X--:..**

McCallister handed over the silver and green shavings. Sora took the glass jar from her and twisted off the lid, daubing at the substance with two fingers. The shavings had the consistence of shredded bark or coarse sand.

"It's a blend of a tropical plant with an herb called—"

"I don't care what it's called. Does it make red smoke when it's burned?" Sora cut her off.

She blinked, "Yes, sir."

He nodded and promptly walked away from her, toward the tallest tower in Disney Castle. McCallister didn't follow him, but the door ahead of him opened and Kairi stepped out to intercept him.

"You're actually sending up that signal?" She greeted.

Sora shuffled past her. "Yes."

"Why are you doing this?" Kairi asked, grabbing his elbow.

Sora closed his eyes before opening them and looking at her. "It's five o'clock in the morning. We've got one hour to send up red smoke from the tower, let those bastards think we're playing their game."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"Sora, stop trying—" She paused when he walked past her. Biting her lip, she walked after him, easily keeping pace. "Stop trying to do this on your own. Tifa, Leon, Queen Minnie, they're all taking action in the best interest of the people. You…you act like you just want revenge."

He rounded on her and got in her face. "Kairi, don't."

"Please, just let me in. Let me help you."

"Why does everyone want to help me? I don't need help and I don't want it. Please, Kairi." He said slowly, "I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?"

He fixed her with a stare, but she held his gaze and glared right back.

Sora really didn't have the time to get into another argument with her. He had a signal to burn and a message to send. Keeping a stiff upper lip, he turned his back on her and continued down the hall, reaching the stairwell to the tower and starting up them.

Kairi did not follow.

He had to stop a few times to catch his breath, and nearly fifteen minutes went by before Sora finally reached the top of the tower. Not pausing to enjoy the view of the expansive horizon of Disney Castle, he left the stairwell and stepped out onto the gazebo-like design of the top of the tower. There was a hollow area at the center of the floor, perfect for hiding a fire from the wind.

Sora glanced around as he knelt down, opening the jar again as well as pulling out a wad of old newspaper. The headlines were bold and dark and screamed about the previous week's attack. Trying not to read the words 'massacre', 'bombing', and 'conspiracy', he balled up the papers and set them at the base of the hollow center. He tipped the jar over the papers, scattering the sandy concoction around the kindling. When half of the contents had been dumped, he set the half-full jar aside and leaned back.

"Fire." He tossed the small ball of flames at the hollow.

The fire caught on the paper and immediately flared up bright and red. Sora got to his feet and watched the flames tear through the fire before spreading a slow burn through the sand. He backed up a few steps as the plume of smoke rose, a dark crimson color.

The smoke wound its way to the roof of the tower, leaking out of the gaping squares that served for windows. The blood colored smoke spread in spidery fingers out into the clear, crystal blue morning sky of Disney Castle, a wounded blotch among the soft clouds. Sora watched it unfurl through the air for a moment before turning to scan the endless landscape far below.

In order to see that smoke, someone from the Fractured Circle had to be here.

Sora narrowed his eyes. He'd find them. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but he'd find them.

And when he found them, he would end them.


	4. Ashes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Corbin Franks, the Fractured Circle, and Tabaeus McCallister. I actually kind of liked how this chapter turned out. I hope Sora's recession into a darker mindset isn't moving too fast. So far, that's my only worry about this story…Any and all constructive feedback is always appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Four: Ashes**

The hot water gushing from the shower head brought the closest thing to relief that Sora had felt in a week. He flattened his palm against the wall of the shower, steadying himself and staying upright as the water crashed over his head and hit his shoulders. He grimaced as the water purged the stitches at his shoulder and closed his eyes.

"His name is Corbin Franks, no other aliases, no previous record, and no surviving family." McCallister's voice drifted through the locked door.

Sora was careful to keep his right hand away from the water, keep the bandages dry. He'd been just standing under the water for ten minutes now, listening to the private read aloud all of the information she'd been able to dig up about Franks and the Fractured Circle. Hot water plastered his hair to his scalp and ran in rivers over his face, stinging at the burns on the side of his face.

"He hails from Traverse Town, there's no record of where he was born or raised, but I did find a file on him from a community college in Enchanted Castle. No major or associate degree was earned or even declared. He took a lot of business courses and a handful of oddball classes like pottery and origami and stuff like that." She continued.

Sora managed to lather up half a bottle of soap with one hand and take a proper shower, swearing when the soap stung at his shoulder. In the other room, McCallister paused in her dialogue, but she didn't press him, and soon went on.

"He dropped out after his third semester, and then it's just some security camera spottings and background photos around towns. No childhood trauma, no war trauma, no history of psychological problems. He's a regular Joe Shmoe turned…terrorist."

Sora stepped slowly out of the shower and snatched up the towel on the sink, glaring at his reflection in the mirror. And here he had been thinking everyone else looked bad. He looked like death warmed over. The pallid hue of his skin really set off the angry red pucker of the burns on his face. Dark circles gave his eyes a sunken look and bruises colored his chest like a storm cloud.

"I tracked him down to having been last spotted in a bar outside Thebes on Olympus." McCallister was saying. "Some locals there remembered him. They said he was quiet, kept to himself, didn't make a ruckus. The perfect customer. He met somebody there."

Sora straightened at that and toweled his arms dry. He had to admit, looking up all this stuff by himself would have been a bitch. McCallister was actually coming in handy, like a robot.

"Now, no one saw the guy's face, but those who were close enough said the guy Franks met was eccentric and…snobby I guess would be the word."

She fell quiet for a few minutes and Sora thought he heard her rustling papers as he got dressed. By the time he figured out how to buckle his jeans with one hand, both of his hands were throbbing. He tilted his head and surveyed the stitches that stretched over his shoulder and toward his collar. Foregoing the shirt, he opened the door to find the young woman poring over a splash of files on the desk.

The afternoon after red smoke smudged the skies of Disney Castle, Sora sent the remaining Council at the palace a message, simply detailing that he would be continuing the investigation at ground zero, Radiant Garden itself. He'd given orders to Private McCallister to dig up as much information on Corbin Franks and the Fractured Circle as she could, and the girl had lived up to Leon's standards: bringing in heaps of information from all accessible Allied worlds. She had only recently come back to Radiant Garden to fill him in.

Kairi had insisted on accompanying him, and the trepid look in her eyes made Sora temporarily berate himself for his recent behavior toward her. Upon setting up base in Ansem the Wise's old study, however, he had taken back that regret when she reverted back to mother-henning and fussing over him. He supposed he did look like Hell, but as long as he was able to stand on his own, he did not want to be treated like an invalid, or worse, a tragic walking cliché.

As if on cue, the door to Ansem's study opened and Kairi walked in, arms laden with bags of materia from the marketplace and take-out from some downtown fastfood joints. She paused momentarily, her eyes flitting from Sora, who was still shirtless, to McCallister, who closed her mouth and tore her own eyes away from Sora. He tried not to roll his eyes, crossing over and relieving Kairi of the materia bags.

"How's research coming, Tabaeus?" She greeted uncomfortably.

McCallister blinked and flipped through a few files. "Slow but thorough."

"Yeah, it turns out terrorists take origami classes." Sora muttered, snatching up a shirt and haphazardly pulling it over his head.

His shoulder twinged in protest, but it was either using his left shoulder or his right hand and…well…the shoulder would hurt less. He circled around the desk to peer over McCallister's shoulder as Kairi started unloading the bags. McCallister twitched, her hand knocking a wad of paper off the desk. Wordlessly she bent to pick it up, but Sora plucked it from the floor, surveyed it for a second, and then held it in front of her.

"What is this?" He asked flatly.

The young woman eyed the paper stonily, jaw working. "It's a paper crane, sir."

"I know what it is, what WAS it?"

"Useless security snapshot of Franks leaving a saloon."

"There is no 'useless'." Sora found the cornerstone fold in the mostly completed crane.

The rest of the paper's creased structure fell apart and the inside of it revealed the blurred image. Sora opened it up, careful not to tear it, and held up the creased, crinkled paper.

"Wasting time folding paper to make pretty animals is useless." He turned and crossed to the back of the study, where the portraits hung.

Casually, he lifted the roll of tape from the top of the nearest file cabinet, tugged out a strip, and flattened the photo print out against the wall, slapping the tape in the top center to hold it there. He took a step back, made it sure it stayed, and turned to find the two women watching him with very different expressions. Kairi looked like she'd just been slapped in the face, eyes wide and hands frozen over a bag. McCallister's mouth was a flat line, her eyebrows neither raised nor lowered: unrevealing.

The silence stretched for three seconds before Sora lifted a hand and pointed at the desk of papers.

"Put the rest of them up there. We need to see the bigger picture here."

"Yes, sir."

Kairi slid away from where she'd been paralyzed, gliding past him and into the back room of the study. He'd freaked her out. Sora taping a picture to a wall had freaked her out. Not the attack, not the dead, not the videos, but this?

Seriously?

Sora took a calming breath and followed her into the room. The back room served as a bed room at one point, eventually becoming Ansem's second office, his clutter arena. Dusty and full of boxes, all the walls bare and a horrid green color. Kairi was standing with her back to him, hands sternly planted on her hips, legs locked in the full Argument Stature.

"What." He ground out.

She whirled on him, normally peaceful eyes ablaze. "What is going on with you?!"

"That snapshot is a piece of the puzzle. I can't figure everything out if the pieces are turning into paper birds."

"No, that—" She pointed to the main study. "That I can tolerate in and of itself. But you—You're not even you anymore! The way you're throwing yourself into this investigation. You aren't doing this for justice, you're out for revenge. The way you look at things, the stuff you've been saying—The things you haven't been saying are worrying me even more."

"At least I'm trying to do something." He said softly.

"What?" She snapped.

Sora flexed his jaw. "I'm not sitting around, content to watch it all burn. I'm finding the bastards who did this. By myself if I have to, I'll track them down."

Kairi threw her hands up to frame her eyes. "Are you listening to yourself? There are so many things in what you just said that—that the Sora I know, that I've known for years—wouldn't be even thinking!"

"Like what?" He tilted his head.

"None of us are sitting around, and we sure aren't happy to 'watch it all burn'. Tifa, Leon, the Queen, they're all—"

"Inhibited." Sora interrupted. "They're leaders, THE leaders of the Alliance, but they're not leading. They're sitting around, moaning over the tragedy when the time for mourning has long passed. Every hour that we waste crying over things we can't change is another hour that the Fractured Circle breathes the same air we do. And I, for one, can not tolerate that."

"What are you going to do when you find them, huh? Kill them? Kill Corbin Franks? What will that solve? As much as crying will, that's how much." Kairi yelled at him. "What you're doing isn't healthy, Sora. Please, it's okay to grieve."

Sora's temper flared, but his voice stayed low and even. "I have to be the uninhibited one. I can't grieve, and cry, and angst over it all like everybody else." He looked her straight in the eye, and she glared back hotly. "All of you are putting this on me. And I'll take it." He leaned in closer. "But I'm handling it. I'm ending it my way."

Kairi moved even closer, the fury in her eyes scorching. "What is YOUR way?"

Sora's gaze flickered to the warm light pooling into the dark study from the main chamber. McCallister's shadow was moving back and forth, obediently taping up all of the information she'd compiled. The snapshot of a blurred face glanced across his vision and fresh resolve coursed through his veins like morphine. He turned his eyes back to Kairi.

"Total."

**..:--X--:..**

_As quickly as awareness fled, it crashed back through Sora's mind so fast, the echoes could barely reverberate inside his skull before the light was stabbing his eyes._

_Heat._

_His vision was slurred, all manner of colors, across the spectrum, every level of brightness. Wisps of curling color and shards of angular branches cross hatched his line of sight, battling for focus as his eyes refused to adjust._

_Fire._

_The first sense to return to Sora was feeling, and the sensation wasn't pleasant. His skin felt tight to the extent of tearing, and some chunks of rock and other debris were clinging to him. He couldn't move, could barely see, but he could feel the pain. It felt like his upper body was connected to the floor, and his sword hand—was it even still attached?_

_Smoke._

_The acrid smell of burning metal and blood clogged his nose and throat, making him gag. As his face scrunched with the pain, the left side of his face exploded in agony, as though a cleaver had hollowed out that side of his head and packed the empty space with hot coals. Crying out involuntarily, he kicked his legs as a release and his knee connected painfully with what felt like solid steel._

_Blood._

_It was in his mouth. He could taste it. The left side of his mouth was filling with blood, and screaming only helped him realize that several teeth on that side of his mouth were loose. A few were even missing, or at least broken. He could feel it on his skin, on his clothes. Even though his eyes weren't syncing with the lights and smells swirling around him, he knew without visual confirmation that he was covered in blood._

_How much of it was his?_

_More importantly, how much of it wasn't?_

_By the passing seconds—they felt like hours—his vision cleared and he was able to look around, blinking repeatedly as his eyes focused on jagged metal._

_Pain._

_The tall shred of forked shrapnel stood several inches out of Sora's shoulder, pinioning him to the…the floor? The surface below him was uneven and at an angle, as he felt his weight sliding slightly down to legs that he felt would not support him. He regarded the metal protrusion with a paralyzed, wide eyed look. It hurt, but in a disconnected way, as though his mind hadn't registered the pain yet._

_Pulse._

_He was suddenly aware of his heart beat in all the strangest places: the backs of his thighs, the underside of his right arm, his temples, and even his right hand. Movement on the other side of his body made him turn his head from the mutilation at his shoulder._

_Hooves._

_Two, short, furred hooves were running toward him, but he saw beyond them. The faceless forms of bodies were running in all directions, carrying people, carrying water, carrying each other. The faces he could make out were smudged with ash and blood. Mouths were stretched wide, vocal chords were drawn taut as soundless screams fought their way out._

_Silence._

_He heard nothing. Blood was trickling steadily from his ears, carving crimson paths through the wood and oil down his neck. Everything was reduced to a low pitched, whirring sound. White noise, like a rotating fan, or television static. Or maybe it wasn't. He couldn't remember._

_The hooves reached him and then they were connected to a small, stout body, leaning over him, half goat and half—_

_Phil's lips were projecting: "It's okay, kid. You're okay. Hold on."_

_Sora found it harder to hold focus. Maybe it was the blood loss. He had a shaft of metal sticking out of his shoulder. The fact seemed momentarily very amusing, and a weak smile curved Sora's lips before his eyes decided to focus again._

_Bodies._

_In the plural._

_Or maybe in the singular, but it was hard to tell._

_Phil turned and was apparently calling for help. Sora could only see the ragdoll form of a badly burned body, draped across a row of contorted seats. Directly in front of the corpse was another body, or what remained of it. Strange how your eyes focus extra sharply on things you do not want to see._

_Nausea swept through his stomach and ran rampant across his entire body and he lurched, rolling hard to his right side and retching violently. Phil grabbed his shoulder. Light burst across his eyes as a new threshold of pain was reached. The agony in his shoulder overpowered the pain in his hand and he screamed, trying to curl into a fetal position._

_Then two large, thick arms were sliding under him, sweeping him from the mutilated floor, shrapnel-shoulder and all. The vertigo made Sora swallow his screaming and his uninjured hand gripped a heated armor chest plate. Blinking painful tears away, his head fell back and he vaguely made out the sculpted features of Hercules before blood loss and pain won out and he was lost to welcoming oblivion._

**..:--X--:..**

Sora stood with his arms uncomfortably folded, biting the nail of his thumb and staring at the wall. McCallister had run out of room on the main study wall, so they'd spent the last three hours getting rid of the old storage boxes in the back room and taping the files, print outs, research, and images on the four walls in there.

Kairi was gone. To where and to do what, Sora didn't know and couldn't bring himself to worry about. She was smart, and she was pissed. He should be more worried about whoever she ran in to. He'd dismissed McCallister upon pinning the final paper to the wall. He needed to absorb it, stare at it, and think, and he couldn't do that when she was idly watching the process, maybe folding up another crane.

The map of all of the Allied systems, and the Gummi routes among them, hung expansive across an entire wall by itself. He'd placed red tacks on the worlds where McCallister had found evidence of Franks' presence. Green tacks marked where the larger battalions of Allied forces were located. The other walls were overlapping themselves with papers, newspaper clippings, security camera print outs, and lists: anything pertaining or remotely relevant to the Fractured Circle. The entire room smelled like fresh ink and warm paper.

It wasn't enough.

Eyes never leaving the map, Sora reached into the old desk they'd left in there and pulled out another box of colored tacks. These were yellow, and there was only a handful of them. He'd need more than a dozen to represent the number that would be required to make this work.

Much more.

**..:--X--:..**

"What say the lowly leaders of freedom?"

"There has been no change, sir. No report on mobilization of any of the Alliance's weapons."

"Their Council is crippled and weak. The old blood that survived our salutations is too shell shocked to respond, and the new blood is too newly minted to act."

"Sir? It's been over a week since the red smoke—"

"Yes, yes, I'm aware, and the passing of this week has helped to settle the churning sense of unease in the bellies of the Alliance. We have nothing to fear from their silence and cooperation."

"Then I shall arm our forces and ready the second wave?"

He chuckled quietly. "Ah, sadly no. Disband the second attack. Let them lick their wounds. I'm interested to see how they'll react to our demands."

"Sir—"

He cut his inferior off with a patient gaze, standing and crossing over to the camera, facing him on the tripod. He swept the black material over the lens and glanced at the blank disc, ready for recording.

"They've seen your face, sir, why the blanket?"

"Are you familiar with nonsense, lad?"

"The…the term, sir, yes."

"Nonsense is merely a lack of logic, of pattern, or reason. Without the structure of reasoning to steam roll every action into neat little patterns of logic, sense fails to organize, and you get nonsense."

"Sir…"

"Nonsense is merely a figurehead for anarchy. It is unpredictable and therefore chaotic. A dismissal of control and authority. That's what we're sending them." He smiled thinly.

The other man shifted uncomfortably. "I don't understand."

He laughed, "I'm not surprised, but no matter. It's not your job to understand. It's mine. Your job is to work that recorder properly."

The other man hastened to obey, pressing the red button as the leader of the Fractured Circle sat elegantly back in his seat, offering his words of ultimatum to the black-veiled camera.

**..:--X--:..**

Kairi was walking alone outside the Marketplace when she found Sora's assistant at a park bench, fumbling with some brightly colored paper.

"Tabaeus?"

The girl started at being addressed, looking up at Kairi and dropping her paper.

"Sorry—" The private stuttered, picking up the paper and wadding it up.

"No, don't—" Kairi held out a hand. "I'm sorry I scared you. What are you doing?"

"The Major dismissed me for the evening. He wanted to scour the research by himself." She excused. "Are you all right? I heard—I mean, I wasn't listening, but—it was loud…"

Kairi exhaled, rubbing her eyes. "It's okay. I'm—I don't know."

She sank onto the bench beside the private, covering her face with her hands. "He's not the same. This attack has affected all of us, but he's—I don't know how to help him. He doesn't want to feel coddled, but he just…he needs a hug and he's so wrapped up in his own revenge that any contact with emotions or feelings—he just shuts me out."

Tabaeus looked extremely uncomfortable, but didn't say anything and studied the folded paper in her hands. Kairi mentally put a cork in her venting mechanism and looked sideways at her.

"What's with the cranes?" She nodded toward the half formed mass in the girl's hands.

Tabaeus swallowed. "It's stupid."

"I could use some stupid right about now." Kairi encouraged.

Tabaeus sighed in defeat. "I read in this book once that if you fold a thousand paper cranes, you get to make a wish."

Admirable, and poetic, but Kairi found herself disillusioned to things of that romantic sort anymore.

"That's…nice." She offered. "What do you want to wish for?"

"Oh, I don't believe in that wish thing." Tabaeus muttered, but her bowed head gave her away. "Magic is for spells and sorcerers, not—" She held up the crane.

Kairi studied the paper bird for a moment. "Then why go through the trouble?"

"It's a distraction. My own little dose of stupidity to get me through the day."

"I can understand that."

Both women looked at the crane for a few quiet seconds.

"Then again," Tabaeus tilted the bird away from her. "Origami is a course for terrorists so—"

Kairi groaned, "He's an idiot. He's just pushing everybody away, in any way he can. I don't know why, but I'm not going to just leave him because he thinks I'm worthless."

"I'm sure he doesn't think that."

"But he is an idiot."

Tabaeus didn't comment on that.

Kairi ran a hand through her hair and rubbed her neck. "You're off duty; you can agree with me."

The other girl exhaled softly and tugged at the ends of the crane, making the wings move up and down.

"I think I'll just stick to stupidity for now, but I'll get back to you on that."


	5. Absolution

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. I do own this story, the Fractured Circle, Tabaeus McCallister, and Corbin Franks. This is a pretty important chappie, you few but cherished readers. A lot of cheesecake hits the fan here. Any and all OOC overkill and moments of chilly insanity I blame on Manipulated Living by Michael Andrews, aka the theme for Donnie Darko, which I listened to over and over again while writing this. It's creepy…thus this chapter. As always, any and all constructive feedback is welcome and appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Five: Absolution**

Kairi refused to lose Sora to his demons.

She stopped asking him about his plans. She refrained from pestering him about taking it easy and changing the bandages on his hand and shoulder. She controlled the urge to stare at the horrendous scarring that was forming over the facial burns. She would play his game, by his rules, but she was not going to let him win. She would not lose him too. Not after all this.

Breathing slowly and in long, calming breaths, she walked down the main hall of the Radiant Garden underground training center. Tabaeus had told her, after much hesitation, that Sora was training down here. She also told Kairi that it was a bad idea to disturb him: bad mood alert. Well, that was too bad. He'd been disturbing her for the last two weeks; he could tolerate her a little more.

Sora really had no business training. His hand was still healing. He'd had two fingers amputated and nearly lost half of his hand, for goodness' sake. It was getting harder to read him, though. He was so deluded about this counter attack that he was losing sight of…everything else—like the fact that there was no way he'd be able to personally fight in it. Not with that hand and that shoulder.

Kairi met no one else in the halls. No one was training. Everyone who would have been training were in no condition to, or they were—She swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat and exhaled heavily. Dead. They were no longer alive. Sora was right about that much: not saying it didn't make it not true. It had been two weeks. She HAD to begin the healing process.

At least one of them would be.

Far from letting that wound heal, Sora was leaving it untreated and letting infection set in. Revenge might have been a dish best served cold, but it was going to make him sick. It was going to kill him and get others killed. Leon and Tifa were trusting his judgment for now, but they were beginning to have their doubts. Kairi hated to encourage that doubt, but Sora was losing his footing. It was only a matter of time before the road he was riding ended up—

"Fuck!"

Kairi stilled in the hall at Sora's out burst, biting back the instinct to run to his aid. It would only make him more upset if she suddenly rushed in. The obscenity echoed slightly down the hall and then silence swallowed her up again. Soothing her nerves, she crossed the last few steps to the third door on her left, where the swearing had come from.

Sora was squatting in the middle of the empty training room, head bowed, left hand grasping his right wrist as he breathed heavily. Kairi saw all she needed to know in those first three seconds. The sweat, the paleness of his face, and the tight lines constricting the skin around his eyes made it all clear.

He was in pain.

The sight was slightly startling. Sora hadn't shown so much as a wince or a raised voice since he'd woken up in the hospital wing of Disney Castle two weeks ago. No physical weakness and hardly any emotion at all. If he'd given away any of that sort in front of his assistant, Tabaeus didn't mention it. Kairi shifted uncomfortably, unsure how to make her presence known without angering him. Sora stood up after a moment, not making a sound as he rotated his weakened wrist.

The Keyblade Oblivion flashed into his left hand this time and it was obviously an awkward and unfamiliar grasp. Sora swung the blade in a few short twists and circles, grunting with dissatisfaction at the clumsier motions. She watched him, arms clutched against her chest, standing in the frame of the door, not quite inside the room.

As he pulled into a curt arc and swung the teeth of the sword away from his body, a few flickers of blue static—like sparks of lightning—forked across the shaft and crackled out of the teeth. Kairi let out an involuntary gasp and immediately covered her mouth with her hand. She'd never seen a Keyblade channel a spell before!

Sora was facing her before she could fully cover her mouth in surprise. Keyblade Oblivion was raised in a defensive position across his chest. Just as quickly as he'd dropped into the grounded and ready position, he straightened, eyes hard and narrow.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked tersely.

Kairi folded her arms, pushing her shock aside. "I just got here. What are you doing?"

It was a stupid question, but it was the only sensible one she could come up with while he was staring her down like that. To her surprise, he answered her.

"I can't use my right hand, so might as well learn how to handle the Keyblade with my left."

"How—How is your hand?"

"It's missing two fingers, pretty much rendering it useless as far as swordsmanship goes." He muttered sarcastically, flat expression back in place. "Other than that, it's peachy."

Kairi drew a measured breath, absorbing the attitude and letting it slide.

"McCallister ratted me out." He said off handedly.

Kairi narrowed her eyes. "Were you trying to hide or something?"

"From Tifa." He replied.

She blinked. "Tifa? Why?"

"She's the leader standing in while the new Council organizes. Most powerful person in the Alliance and she wants to badger me about missiles."

"Missiles?!" She stepped into the room.

"For the counter attack."

Kairi gaped at him. "Are you insane? You don't even know where the Fractured Circle is centered, and you're already accumulating missiles?"

"Franks said he wanted all of our warcraft. We're going to send it to him." Sora gripped the Keyblade, turning his back on her and continuing his training.

"You can't bomb the entire Alliance just to find one man."

"I'm not." Sora grunted as he jabbed at the empty air in front of him. "McCallister is tracking him down as we speak. She got through satellite security easily enough and has been hijacking communication systems for the past several hours, running a vocal match to the voice on the video."

"You're having that poor girl hack into an Allied communication system?"

"Oh please, what is the new Council going to do? Try to blow me up? Sorry, guys, Corbin Franks beat you to it." Sora gave her an incredulous look and corrected the fumbling Keyblade. "I don't think so."

Kairi ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "Sora, listen, we can't—"

Sora rounded on her so fast she felt the breath still across her teeth.

"Riku is dead…Do you understand that?" He said quietly.

Kairi took a step back from him, uncomfortable with their faces inches apart. "I was at the funeral last week. Yes, I understand that." Her voice cracked.

"Corbin Frank and his…Fractured Circle bastards…organized it. It was their idea. They put it together. They planned it out. They executed it. It is their fault he is dead." Sora advanced one step.

Kairi took another two steps backwards, feeling her back touch the wall beside the open door. "I'm not an idiot, Sora. I know we have to find them."

"I'm going to end them." Sora closed in the gap between them, once again uncomfortably close. "Not find, not punish, not kill…end them."

Kairi tilted her head, her eyes contracting. "How? No, how, Mr. Righteous Vengeance?" She slapped him in the uninjured shoulder. "The Keyblade doesn't kill human beings! It unlocks them. It—" She froze as his eyes bore into hers.

"Death is just another separation act." Sora murmured, his eyes finding that snag of realization in her pupils. "Death opens one of two doors: paradise or eternal torment. Your immortal soul or whatever." He dropped his voice further. "Believe me when I say, when I get done with those spineless fuckers, there won't be anything left for God to judge."

Kairi looked from one eye to the other, studying him carefully. It wasn't too long ago she could have read every thought and emotion behind those eyes like a child's book. Now, it was like there was a cast iron door, or a black curtain, hiding him from her.

She slapped him open palm across the unburned side of his face. He turned his head with the blow, looking to the far wall of the chamber. He stepped away from her and she wriggled against the wall and out the door, closing it behind her until it clicked softly shut.

Her shoulders turned themselves and she walked slowly back down the corridor. One shoulder brushed the wall and her foot steps stalled, knees wobbling. She lifted a hand to her mouth, hugging her other arm to herself, eyes closed. Tears moistened her lashes and broke free down her cheeks.

A quiet sob escaped, echoing hollowly through the hallway. Kairi sank down the wall until she was on her knees, leaning against the brick to support herself. Head bowed, she openly cried for the first time since the funeral, and the empty halls granted her no solace.

She was losing him.

**..:--X--:..**

"_I could use some more sedatives, over here." Sally waved a hand._

_Blown eardrums made all sound muted and fogged._

_Sora followed her face. His eyes were all he could move. The stitched-up doll-esque woman had her unblinking eyes set on the wound at his shoulder. He'd been pumped full of so many pain killers and sedatives that most of the shrapnel-removal process was a blur. A good thing definitely._

_Kairi. He remembered Kairi. Her face had been all tears and horror. He remembered talking to her, but they were still…they were still at the…attack zone…He couldn't remember what either of them had said. He made her leave when a medic removed the shrapnel. He didn't want her to see._

"_Kai—"_

_His voice was muffled through the oxygen mask fixed over the lower half of his face. Sally bent over him, her fingers moving with a spidery grace around the stitches and dressing. It was hard to register anything. Was he awake? Maybe he'd fallen asleep. No, he was definitely awake. No dream he'd ever had had been this painful and nauseating._

"_Shh, it's okay." Sally soothed, her wide eyes undoing any comfort her words brought._

"_Phil—"_

_That was right. Phil had found him, and Hercules had—pulled him out…Of where? They had been in a big room…The meeting. The Council!_

"_Riku!" Sora lurched up, his elbows catching him. _

_Both arms exploded in foggy agony. Sally gasped and Ling of Land of Dragons grabbed him, holding him down._

"_Stop moving around. We just got the bleeding to stop!" He ordered._

_Sora's wide eyes roamed around the area. The open sky stretched high above, blotted with black and wispy curls of red smoke. What had happened? An explosion? An attack? Where were the other Council members? Where was Mickey? Where was Riku?_

"_What ha—" He coughed and choked on the oxygen._

_The disadvantage gave Ling the opportunity to restrain him properly._

"_Look, there was a series of bombs in the elevator shaft. The building's going to collapse any second. That bodybuilder barely got you out in time!" He explained hastily._

"—_iku."_

"_I haven't seen him." Sally looked around wistfully. "We could really use some more sedatives…"_

"_No, no more sedatives." Sora tugged the oxygen mask from his face and sat up, daring Ling with his eyes to argue._

_Ling reluctantly helped him sit up safely. Sora's legs hung over the stretcher and the vertigo washed over him. He closed his eyes briefly and then opened them._

_A tower of fire and black ash stood where the Allied Headquarter Building was supposed to be. The windows were all blown out and a plume of black smoke was spreading across the normally blue sky. Uniformed men were rushing back and forth, and sirens were blaring._

"_I have to help—"_

"_Sora, buddy, you can barely sit up, much less—" Ling started._

_Sora pushed him aside gently, using him as a support as he stood up. His legs wobbled and his knee groaned in protest. Ling held on to him, looking dubious._

"_Ah, here it is." Sally's voice was soft behind him._

_Sora ignored her and lifted a hand, balled up with red, dripping bandages, and gestured around. "This—this is bad."_

"_We're getting it under control." Ling was trying to guide him back to the stretcher. "C'mon, you're bleeding from at least four different places."_

"_It doesn't look like control." Sora swayed but forced his eyes to keep focus._

_There was a pinch in the back of his neck and Sora turned to see Sally leaning away from him, empty syringe between her fingers. The needle slurred as he registered what the pinch had been, and reality melted together._

"_Hey—" He started, falling back as his world darkened for the third time in…how long?_

_It was hard to even know how much time had passed. Being unconscious really messed up one's sense of time passage. Still, it couldn't have been too long. There was no control. Ling was a liar. The alliteration there was amusing. Why was his body going numb?_

_Things were not under control._

**..:--X--:..**

Sora turned to look at the door once the latch had clicked shut. The knob remained still. Her foot steps receded down the hallway, soon trailing away to silence. He'd scared her. Maybe that was okay.

Kairi didn't get it.

Turning his back on the door, Sora lifted a hand and summoned the Keyblade.

The sword flickered obediently to his right hand and he faltered as he tried to grip the handle. The overlarge handle would not be supported by three fingers and fell, knocking against his palm. Now-familiar pain riddled across his hand, shooting up his arm in spikes. The Keyblade clattered to the floor.

Sora cursed as he dropped the sword, grasping his wrist as the waves of pain rode his nerves. Frustration boiled hot with his pulse and he lifted his right arm out to his side. The Keyblade again obediently flashed into existence, but it hovered a foot from his bandaged palm. Without looking at it, he reeled back, rolling his shoulder around as his arm rotated.

The Keyblade followed his palm, as though bound by an invisible rope, never touching his skin. Screaming in anger, Sora threw his hand forward with his weight behind it. The Keyblade rushed after his throw, hurtling across the training chamber and slamming teeth first into the opposite wall.

Crackles of dark blue lightning branched away from the tip, forking through the wall and causing the solid brick and concrete to crack and shatter. Chunks of mortar and drywall collapsed, causing the wall separating the chambers to buckle. The lightning roamed from the main wall and sent a few cracks into the ceiling and surrounding walls.

The Keyblade hung suspended for a moment, but as the dust settled, it disappeared as he dismissed it.

Sora remained in the follow through position, right arm hanging limply in front of him, breathing heavily.

"Shit."

He straightened, turning away from the ruined wall and lifting his left hand. Keyblade Lionhart thrummed across his open palm and he wound his fingers around it. He watched it, watched the light dance in oily waves over the heated steel. He paused only a moment.

Then he lifted his right hand out again and focused.

Bond of Flame took some coercing, but the sword appeared, hanging suspended a foot from his open right hand. He stepped backwards once, half turning, twisting Lionhart into a spinning block on his left side at the same time he drew his right hand behind his back. Bond of Flame followed the motion, swinging with a free, fluid movement around his right side, blocking his back.

Franks.

A few sparks of dark blue lightning spat out of the ends of the two Keyblades.

Sora eyed the open space and empty training room where a wall used to block the view.

He knew what he had to do.

**..:--X--:..**

Kairi rounded the corner at a steady walk, not knowing what to do other than get away from Sora at the moment. Tifa. She had to find Tifa. And Leon. They…they'd know what to do. They'd know how to handle Sora, make him stop, make him see reason.

She turned onto the next hallway and saw Tabaeus McCallister running toward her, dark blond hair bobbing down her back, brown eyes wide.

"Tab—"

"Where's the Major?"

"Hey, wait—"

Tabaeus skidded slightly on the worn tile floor, pinwheeling her arms to steady herself. "Is he still down here?"

"Yes, but—"

"Sorry, but another video just came in."

"What?!"

"Franks has made second contact. The Major has to know!"

With that, Tabaeus took off down the hall. Kairi watched her fly around the corner and out of sight. Her lungs were slowly constricting, and she jogged to the exit of the training center. Surely Tifa and Leon had watched the tape already. She had to find out what was going on before Sora did, before he could make the situation even worse.

**..:--X--:..**

"Hello again, ladies and gentleman of Her Royal Highness's private viewing brigade. I think I'm safe in assuming that Her Highness is not calling the shots anymore, no? I gave you 36 hours to send up red smoke and you did not disappoint. Lovely show of good faith. I even threw in an extra week to…what is it, get your ducks in a row. I can be reasonable, after all.

"Now, I won't waste your precious time with idle chatter, but on to the main topic of late conversation. My people have reported to me that no mobilization of your weapons has occurred in the passed week. Tsk, tsk, what mixed signals you're sending. All right, being, again, a reasonable man, I am aware that total mobilization and relocation is impossible a week's time. But, due to the Alliance's vast technological resources, I had hoped more than a rifle would have moved.

"I digress. In light of this new information, I am giving your little Alliance one week to deliver only your nuclear warheads to the rendezvous point: the palace ruins of old Hollow Bastion. I'm no imbecile. None of the Fractured Circle will be present at that location, for any preemptive confrontations, until the exact time of the exchange.

"This will be my last communication to you, so I'll be thorough. Send the warheads in a series of black armored trucks to the base of the Rising Falls. My representatives will be there to acquire them no sooner or later than five thirty in the afternoon of the 20th of this month. Do not attempt anything cute. Any evidence of reneging on this agreement will lead to an ultimatum, particularly the day before the exchange.

"If there is any complication or evidence of reneging at any time between now and when your power is in the possession of the Fractured Circle, the ultimatum stands thus: you have twenty-four hours to surrender all of your nuclear warcraft or we lay you to waste."


	6. Semblance

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Corbin Franks, the Fractured Circle, and Tabaeus McCallister. So I finally broke down and got Microsoft Office 2007 installed on my computer…stupid business course required it. Ah well, so that makes this the first thing ever written on that snazzy new program. Be excited. In this chapter, I try to alleviate the terrible fact that I've been ignoring Tifa and Leon and the rest of the musketeers. I hope this chapter isn't too botchy. Any and all constructive feedback is always welcome and appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Six: Semblance**

Tifa pushed her wheelchair back to the residential quarters of the Disney Castle Allied station. She'd stayed as long as was necessary in the castle's hospital wing, but being treated like a wounded puppy was only tolerable for so long. Luckily she was a fast healer: managing the wheelchair no longer required being pushed. That had been degrading.

The sky above was blue and cloudless in typical Disney Castle fashion. She had hesitated, when the video had arrived, about telling Sora about it. No doubt he would have to know eventually, but after his reaction to the first video Franks sent, her confidence in the young Keybearer's post-trauma stability had been shaken.

Mobilization in one week was impossible.

The Fractured Circle had only demanded the nuclear warheads. They might as well have demanded their entire arsenal. There were 40 missiles in Allied possession. Handing them over would be giving the enemy power to destroy every world in the Alliance. Corbin Franks would need nothing else to bring the Alliance to its knees.

The residential quarters of the station were plain but functional. Tifa wasn't looking for a honeymoon suite, anyway, so she wordlessly entered one of the apartments. She was careful to maneuver around to the bathroom sink, where a tall mirror hung. Depth perception: she was going to have to get used to dealing without that.

Exhaling, she looked at her reflection.

Surrendering the warheads to Franks was unacceptable, not to mention impossible. It was signing their own death warrants, plus the death warrants of millions of innocent people. Sending up the red smoke had bought them some time, but there was still no headway into finding the location of the Fractured Circle or their base.

Thick dressing was padded over her left eye and the surrounding skin, wrapping around her jawline. Buckled concrete flooring had collided with her skull during the attack, ruining her eye and shredding most of the skin on that side of her skull. It had been treated quickly, so scarring would be minimal. Her eye was gone.

Sora had been quiet for the past week. He'd accepted Leon's assistant Private McCallister and together they seemed to be running their own investigation at Radiant Garden, or Ground Zero as Sora had dubbed it. He was planning a counter attack, take Franks to the mattresses, so to speak. It didn't appear to matter that the Alliance's leadership was in no position to start another war. The new Council was already elbow deep in matters with the enemies from the previous war. They were all walking on thin ice, and Sora was dancing across it with a sledge hammer.

Tifa slowly peeled away the outer bandages surrounding her eye. The skin was healing; she didn't need such thick bandages anymore. Her hairline had been pushed back, cut close to the scalp so the doctors could stitch her face back together. She paused, her right eye focusing on the purple bruises around her eye and the gauze securing her empty socket.

When Franks got word from his 'people' that the weapons hadn't changed hands, he would launch another attack. The Alliance would be forced to engage. Then again, if he got wind that they weren't even mobilized, he'd launch the attack even sooner. They should begin mobilization, with no intention of following through, but at least give the ruse of cooperation.

She gingerly undid the bandages, baring the wound raw to the mirror. She pursed her lips and forced herself to stare at the lumped and angry area where two weeks ago had been a working eye. She didn't mourn the left side of her vision too much. She'd be stuck with a patch, of course, but she'd never been that into looks anyway. What concerned her was what effect the partial blindness would have on her fighting. If she couldn't contribute to the fight, what good was she doing?

As for what they were going to do to stop the newest madness Franks had introduced, Tifa had no idea. The newly appointed Council was too fresh, too clean, and too inexperienced. It was like putting teenagers in charge of a university. It wasn't for lack of effort, just lack of ability. Queen Minnie was overly optimistic: she had an abundance of faith in Allied humanity, but a short sight of the darkness that the Fractured Circle represented. King Mickey knew it, but he had yet to wake from his coma. Leon was leading from a hospital bed and she from a wheelchair. The only other able bodied leader who had any stake in the Alliance had disappeared in Radiant Garden: throwing himself body and soul into some righteous act of vengeance.

Tifa cleaned the wound herself and applied fresh bandages over her eye. Hercules was returning to Radiant Garden in the morning. He was one of few original representatives or high ranking members of the old Council who wanted to actively pursue the terrorist group calling themselves the Fractured Circle. Once Sora had seen the recent tape of Franks, who knows what he would do.

Kairi did. Her say was the best assumption they had, and she seemed certain that Sora was going down a dark road. Tifa bit her lip and wheeled herself out of the bathroom. The girl had looked genuinely bewildered when talking about Sora's behavior as of late. McCallister was regularly reporting to Leon, but her files were quiet and detailed only the near-savage enthusiasm Sora was putting into research and tracking. Maybe Sora was rubbing off on the private and she was watering down her reports for him. Could a soldier turn that fast?

Grief could do bad things to good people when not properly handled.

Tifa took a controlled breath and steadied her hands before flipping open her cell phone. Grief, a luxury they couldn't afford now. She'd gone to the funeral for the closure and hardly found any beyond a box of tissues. Her closest friends, her family really, were dead. Cid, Yuffie, Aerith, Clo—She closed her eye briefly and took another breath. She still had Leon, aloof and stern as he was, so there was something. She had lost people, he had lost people, and Sora had lost people. Only Sora seemed to be reclusing about it.

Skipping down the numbers on her contact list, she found Sora's number and hit Call, settling the phone in the crook of her ear as she dug through the drawer of clothes and files she'd kept with her. He wasn't going to contact her about his plans before he executed them, so she'd have to force him to spill and see reason.

The phone was picked up on the third ring by Private McCallister.

"Tabaeus, where's Sora?" She asked without preamble.

"He's indisposed, ma'am." Was the immediate reply.

"He needs to report back to Disney Castle as soon as possible. Did he see the tape?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And?"

"H-He is sending an order to mobilize."

Tifa stopped shuffling papers. "What is he mobilizing?"

"The nuclear warheads detailed in the tape, on all the Allied systems."

Tifa grabbed the phone and held it to her ear, squaring her shoulders. "On the Allied systems? The other worlds don't have any missiles in the stations."

McCallister paused. "I—I'm sorry, Lieutenant, I don't know about that."

Swallowing, Tifa calmed herself. "How many?"

"Six."

"You're sure?"

"Those are all the warcraft he has in motion now, ma'am."

"Dammit." She hissed. "All right, report to Sora that he is to be here at Disney Castle by morning. That's a direct order."

"Yes, ma'am."

Tifa hung up and immediately dialed Leon's number. He picked up in the middle of the first ring. She didn't bother with salutations with him either.

"We've got a problem."

**..:--X--:..**

_Sora had no sense of time the third time he woke up. He was surrounded by noise, motion, and jostling before he could open his eyes. Awareness was quickly returning, along with a sense of numbness in his limbs._

"—_ora?" A garbled voice was saying above him. "Sor—ear me?"_

_He forced open heavy eyelids and his pupils were bombarded with blinding, white-blue light. Before he could fully register that, a darker blue haze intruded his vision and he heard animalistic, low pitched groaning. Was that a human being making that sound? The noise was covered by the whirring of rotor blades and men barking words at each other._

"_Sora, say something!" It was Donald._

_He blinked a few times, his vision clearing as well as his hearing, and he inhaled the cool oxygen that the mask was pumping against the lower half of his face. He took a few seconds to just stare blankly up at Donald, trying to remember…again._

_Sally, the Council, Riku, fire, an explosion, King Mickey, heat, blood, pain, Kairi, Ling, a sedative: it all rushed back and Sora swallowed, trying to calm himself down. It couldn't be that bad. They were smarter than that. There was no way the enemy could have attacked them without them having any idea about it. Then why had it happened? His body was numb but it hurt. Carefully avoiding using his right hand, he lifted his left and tugged the oxygen mask from his mouth._

"_Don—"_

"_Yeah, it's me." Donald leaned in closer, keeping a hand on Sora's forearm._

_His shoulder was aching and he could feel his pulse down his arms. It felt as though he'd swallowed hot coals and they'd settled somewhere in his ribs to scorch. Swallowing, he tilted his head sideways and tried to take in what he was looking at._

_He and Donald were in a medium-sized rescue helicopter. Paramedics in red uniforms were bending over Tifa, who appeared to be thrashing or having some sort of convulsion, groaning and screaming at the same time, trying to grab her face, which was out of sight behind two paramedics. Sora watched her, his pulse quickening._

_This was happening._

_Gritting his teeth, Sora rolled sideways slowly onto his right side. He kept his hand elevated, not quite brave enough to look at it yet, and got his elbow under him._

"_Sora, no! Stay down, please." Donald fretted above him._

"_Where's Goofy?" His voice was shaky and unsteady and he cleared his throat._

"_He's down there helping to put out fires. I'm going back down there once you and Tifa get to Disney Castle. Kairi is already there waiting for you."_

"_Castle—Why?" Sora maneuvered onto his knees._

"_It's too dangerous here. They're evacuating the entire city as we speak." Donald explained hastily, trying to keep Sora on the stretcher, but more importantly keeping him from falling over._

"_Is everybody okay?" Sora asked._

_Donald's face told him all he needed to know, and Sora stood up the rest of the way, grabbing at the overhead pipes to steady himself. Donald hopped to his feet and held his hands out placatingly, fear and concern overflowing his eyes._

"_Where's Riku?" Sora demanded over the whirring engines. "And King Mickey? And Leon? And—"_

"_Leon was one of the first they got out. He's at Disney Castle now." Donald was quick to give him the good news._

"_Is he okay?" Sora asked, his voice cracking._

"_I hope so." Donald answered softly._

_The helicopter shifted in the rough turbulence of the air and a dark shaft of black smoke entered the view from the open side wall of the craft. Sora held onto the grips of the roof, swinging around to look at the scene directly. The sight overrode all background sound with stunning clarity._

_The Allied Headquarter building was gone._

_Not in flames._

_Not surrounded by smoke._

_Not even blasted in half._

_It was gone, as were some of the surrounding buildings._

_All that remained was a wide, flat expanse of twisted metal and fire. The epicenter of all of the Alliance's political power had disappeared, collapsed, been bombed to the ground. How many people had been in that building? And the buildings around it that had also collapsed? A few hundred? There were about fifty people on the Council, and the skyscraper had been a fully operational, fully employed building._

_There was no way everyone had gotten out before it collapsed._

_Red and yellow flames stretched around the coils of black smoke, stretching as far and wide as it could. How many people had been buried under there? Trapped and alive or trapped and de—_

_Sora set his jaw and let go of the roof, sinking down to his knees and then sliding onto his backside. Shock waves rushed up and down his spine, spreading to his fingers and toes. Donald was right behind him, speaking reassurances and calming words, all rendered useless by his own shaky voice. Sora looked down at himself, at the blood that was now dry on his skin and clothes._

_Someone had caused this._

_This hadn't been an accident._

"_We're going to land over by the Great Maw, there's a transport Gummi waiting to take you two to Disney Castle." Donald was explaining._

_Sora didn't respond._

_He didn't know what to do anymore._

**..:--X--:..**

Leon slid the latest report from Tabaeus into a manila folder and set it aside, pinching the bridge of his nose. Tifa's call four hours ago had been in a panicked but controlled tone. Sora was arming six nuclear missiles on six different worlds. No doubt playing on the good faith he'd earned from the locals there. He sighed and closed his eyes briefly. This was getting out of hand.

Tabaeus was faltering. Her reports were becoming more and more…edited, he thought. Sora's investigation at Radiant Garden sounded much more patient and in control on paper than what Kairi and Tifa had described. She had been compromised. Leon didn't know how yet, but when Sora arrived in a few minutes, he'd get to the bottom of all of this.

He had watched the most recent tape a handful of times now, and there were a few things that were still bothering him. It all bothered him, of course, but there were a few things that just didn't add up. Why the black curtain? Corbin Franks had shown his face in the last video. What made the difference this time? Was he trying to be dramatic?

Leon wasn't one to try and figure out a sociopath.

The door opened and Sora walked in with all the elegance of a bull in a china shop. He looked horrible, Leon thought, followed immediately by the mental come back, so says the man stuck in a hospital bed. He frowned and deftly covered Tabaeus's folder with a file on nuclear missiles.

"Sora." He greeted flatly.

The younger man didn't reciprocate immediately, crossing the room to stand facing Leon, shoulders loose and mouth flat, the face of apathy, but if he had been a cat, all of his fur would have been standing up. Leon regarded him mildly for a moment before Sora replied.

"You're assembling an army in Radiant Garden."

It wasn't a question, just an affirmation.

"Yes, I am." Leon replied just as staticly.

"You've got three divisions lining up and another squad coming in from The World That Never Was. That leaves the entire Northern section of the Alliance exposed. Why?"

The kid had done his homework.

Leon studied him a moment longer. "Because the Fractured Circle is not in the Northern section."

Sora straightened immediately. "You know where their base is?"

Leon folded his arms, "We're still working on it—"

"We?"

Leon narrowed his eyes at the interruption. "Tifa and I. We're not just putting out fires out here."

Sora pursed his lips and didn't press further.

Leon continued. "We've narrowed it down to a few places, all of them located on Radiant Garden. We took a sample of the audio from the tape and cross-matched it with every voice recorded in the Alliance's Twilight Town satellite. I'm sure you're familiar with that tactic."

Sora didn't give anything away. "You must be pretty sure, moving the army so drastically."

Leon nodded. "I am. So the missiles won't be necessary."

Sora narrowed his eyes. "Call it precaution then."

Leon exhaled in exasperation. "They were never necessary."

"You really think the Fractured Circle only has one base? They're not a small scale terrorist group, Leon. There are at least six different bases."

"And you were planning on what? Wiping them off the map with a few well placed explosives?" Leon said. "Until we know where Franks is, he could be anywhere, therefore, we can't just go blow up everything."

Sora folded his arms slowly, "So you're just going to 'renege' and take the 'or else' option?"

"Franks is demanding OUR arsenal, which means his must be limited."

"Or he just doesn't want us to use ours."

"I'm not gullible enough to believe he doesn't have a comparable amount of weapons and enough manpower to arm them." Leon continued. "He's not a soldier; he's a politician. He won't be able to handle an attack."

"What happened to 'we're not ready to launch an attack'?" Sora said bitterly.

"We're not attacking. We're acting under his ultimatum. You've begun mobilization of the warheads. He's taking it as a sign of cooperation. On the day of the exchange outside the old castle ruins, we'll surround their base and force them to surrender." Leon explained, careful to omit any details that would set Sora off.

The Keybearer regarded the Colonel warily. "Surrender. That's what we're aiming for? What if Franks isn't even at the base on Radiant Garden? He could be at any of the other bases."

"Do you know where any of the other bases are?"

"McCallister is working on it."

Leon resisted the urge to frown more deeply than he was already. "What do you plan on doing when you locate all of the Fractured Circle's bases?"

Sora rolled his neck, cracking it dully. "It doesn't matter—"

"Of course it does—"

"I want to lead the attack, oh I'm sorry, the forced surrender plan, in Radiant Garden."

"No."

Sora didn't look surprised at the rejection. "Technically, I'm the only one who can. The new people are too green to handle something this big. Tifa's in a wheelchair and you're leading from the hospital wing at Disney Castle."

"You aren't thinking clearly enough to lead the divisions. You don't want surrender. You only want revenge, and the Alliance can't afford that kind of reckless behavior." He retorted.

Leon saw the wall fall into place behind Sora's eyes, blocking him off, and he knew he'd lost him. Sora shifted backwards, arms loose, and half turned toward the door. Leon held his gaze.

"You are not to return to Radiant Garden. This investigation is officially out of your hands. You stay here until after the confrontation. That's an order." He said firmly.

Sora reached the door, pulled it open, and glared hard. "We'll see."

He slammed the door behind him and Leon sighed, rubbing his eyes. He studied the door for a moment before snatching up his cell phone and calling Tabaeus. The phone rang several times before switching him over to voice mail. He inwardly cursed. What was keeping her from picking up her damned phone? He didn't bother with greetings when the phone beeped over to voicemail.

"Stop whatever assignment Sora has you working on. He's planning something dangerous and we can't trust his judgment anymore. Keep a closer eye on him and report everything back to me. This is an order, Tabaeus: do not allow him to further mobilize any weapons or missiles. Sora is officially a hazard."

**..:--X--:..**

Tabaeus tapped her pencil against the desk as the computer hummed in front of her. The audio sample was repeating over and over again, crossing the vocal patterns with every voice recording in the Alliance's computer database. So far there had been three matches, but upon further research, they were computer glitches.

Watching the computer do her job for her, she fought a yawn and idly picked up a blank piece of paper from the printer. She traced her fingers around the edges, deemed it to be square enough, and started folding it. The Colonel would be wanting another report in a few days. She wasn't sure what she was going to write. The Keybearer was making progress in the investigation by…questionable means, but you couldn't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, right? Maybe.

She flattened a crease with her pencil and kept folding. His methods were definitely on the other end of the spectrum from the Colonel's, but he was making headway. Six missiles were already moving, and the others would be too, as soon as the Major confirmed the launch sites at the other stations. He had even found out about the Colonel's army in Radiant Garden. He had to know what he was doing.

Right? Maybe.

She held up the finished crane and admired it for a second before taking her pencil and jotting a number on the underside of a wing: #7. Satisfied, she set it next to her phone when the screen lit up. She picked up the phone and read: one missed call, one new voicemail. Furrowing her brow, she opened the file. When had she put her phone on silent?

She'd missed a call from the Colonel.

"Oh shit." She hissed, already flinching as she started to open the voicemail.

The computer on the desk flickered and flashed. Happy for the distraction from imminent chewing out-age, she checked the screen. The system had identified a potential match for the audio sample. She pressed a few buttons and brought up the match, crossing it with the existing phony matches and screening out the computer simulated voices.

The match survived that process and Tabaeus pursed her lips, tracking the audio match via satellite. The map of the Alliance morphed and shifted, zooming in on Radiant Garden and lighting up at the voice's last recorded location. Blinking, Tabaeus snatched her phone up again and dialed the Major. He picked up after two rings.

"What."

"I found Franks."


	7. Diorama

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Corbin Franks, the Fractured Circle, and Tabaeus McCallister. This is the chapter where things get intense, and it's a fine line I walk between fresh and cliché, and I always aim for the former. I give away something critical in this chapter, but it's hidden, so you might catch it or you might dismiss it. Tee hee hee. As always, constructive feedback is always welcome and appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Seven: Diorama**

Ground Zero.

He had avoided it like the plague since returning to Radiant Garden after sending up the red smoke, but this time Sora decided it was time to go see. He took a Gummi back to Radiant Garden an hour after meeting with Leon. Halfway through the flight back, McCallister had called him and confirmed Franks' location. He didn't let her tell him over the phone.

Sora approached the wreckage with slow, long strides, his boots absorbing the soft crunch of ash and curled paper that remained littered about in a half-mile radius from the epicenter. The thriving fires had only been finally extinguished a few days ago. The ghost of old smoke lingered in the air, along with the smell of hot metal and burning material.

Twisted iron beams stuck up at obscure angles, contorted and skeletal. Bits of tin and shattered drywall clung to a few joints, like meat hanging from bone. This place was nothing more than a massive grave, entombing unrecovered bodies and serving as a blatant reminder of what the Alliance was fighting against: terror, fear, injustice…evil.

Sora hadn't gone to the funeral.

It was a mass funeral, ceremonially burying all of the bodies, well, what parts of the bodies they'd salvaged before the fires cremated everything else. After the skyscraper collapsed, that cause became lost. No matter where the pretty headstone stood or what inspiring little words were etched there, this—where they died—was their cemetery. It was only fitting that he paid his respects here.

A dry breeze curved the fingers of smoke away from the clumps of blackened wood. He walked through the empty space where the front entrance used to be: now reduced to ash and ruined steel. It was painful to accept it, but he forced his eyes to stay open, to fully absorb what he was seeing. He inhaled deeply, and the smell of ash and smoke filled his lungs, burning down his throat. He exhaled and flexed his jaw.

His cell phone vibrated against his hip and he pulled it out from his belt, activating the screen. It was a message from McCallister. 'Land of Dragons is on board.' He read it carefully and then slid the phone into his pocket. He was in the process of winning the support of the divisions stationed by Leon in Radiant Garden. They were soldiers who had all lost friends, family, and comrades in the attack and subsequent massacre. It wouldn't take much more than the truth and the facts to sway them under his allegiance. The other worlds would take more haggling, or at least he had assumed they would.

You know what they said about assuming.

Another message buzzed in.

'Agrabah on board.'

The missiles were on their way to the stations. He had personally selected the soldiers that would be transporting them. The Captains of the joint-divisions were scheduled to arrive in Radiant Garden this afternoon. Sora was going to meet with them and the Council of Representatives to persuade them to put their support and resources into his plan. Leon and Tifa held a lot of power, but justice had to prevail here.

He knelt down and slowly pulled up a fistful of ash, still warm from the fire. He straightened and held the ashes out, releasing them to the weakening breeze. Queen Minnie had all but receded from leading any sort of movement, handing the entire situation over to Tifa, who, if anything, was letting her emotions get in the way. This had to end now, and it would be over…soon.

'Halloween Town on board.'

Sora walked around the wreckage, soaking in the sorrow and the anger that seeped through his veins at the sights and smells he encountered. This was where his closest friends died, either killed by the explosion, the shrapnel, the fire, or the collapse. This was where they drew their last breaths, where they last felt fear and pain and helplessness. This was where it started.

He glared across the expanse and over the rooftops of the lower city sectors, to where the armaments of the old palace ruins of Hollow Bastion stood stark in the sky like a raised middle finger, taunting him and daring him to go through with it.

'Deep Jungle on board.'

Sora took a moment to relish in the silence that encased him. As soon as he returned to Ansem's old study, McCallister would be there to fill him in on where the Fractured Circle was based for sure and where Corbin Franks was. The moment he heard the location, the attack would be finalized and the plans would go into motion. Together they had tracked down every location of the other hidden bases on the other worlds. This plan would purge them all, eradicate them from existence…just like Franks had been hoping to do with the old Council.

'Olympus on board.'

Kairi had been avoiding him since their argument. She must be thinking he was going over the deep end. She wasn't completely wrong, but she wasn't right. Sora knew what he was doing. He was exacting safety and security for all of the Alliance. That feat could only be accomplished by wiping out the Fractured Circle and any other right wing group that threatened them. She didn't understand that he was doing all of this to protect her and everyone else.

'Enchanted Castle on board.'

Sora would have to find Kairi later. After this was all over, she would understand. He would sit down with her and explain everything. Until Franks was dead, though, he could not afford that luxury. Six of the worlds were on his side, but it would take all of them to make this work. He shoved his phone into his pocket again and turned his back on Ground Zero, walking away from the tomb but not escaping the darkness it left in the pit of his stomach. The Council would be convening soon. The Captains would be attending.

He checked his watch and started back to the study, where the truth waited.

**..:--X--:..**

_Sora was close to catatonic by the time the transport Gummi landed in Disney Castle. He allowed the paramedics to steer him onto a stretcher. He didn't fight them. He didn't have any fight left. He was exhausted. He was in shock. He'd lost a lot of blood. He didn't have the energy for this, nor the emotional capacity to deal with the trauma at the moment._

_Kairi was there. As the fluorescent lights moved overhead, her face bobbed in and out of view, her mouth moving to words that didn't register in his foggy, blank mind. His body ached but he tried to offer her a smile. She looked so scared. She was okay, though, she wasn't hurt. That's what mattered. She was safe. He relaxed at the sight of her, submitting to the medics who were attaching him to a back brace and fixing another oxygen mask over his face._

_Dry tears made his skin feel filmy and tight, and he closed his eyes, blocking out the too bright light and left only to focus on the thrums of pain that pulsed through his muscles. Everything had fallen apart. The peace, the negotiations, the end of the war, it was all undone. Their efforts had been wasted and futile. No matter how many pretty words you used, the meaning was the same: they had failed. This…this horrible thing had happened and people were dead, his friends and comrades were dead. He didn't know who was still alive._

_The sorrow built up in his chest and he bit his lip. No. He couldn't afford to break right now. It was too much to handle. He didn't want this. He wanted to rewind time and undo this, but it was too late. All he could do now was try to handle it. Even if all of their leaders were dead, he was still alive, and that meant he could do something. He could still do something. He could make it better…right?_

_What if he couldn't?_

_The back of his eyes burned at the thought and he choked back the emotion. Now was not the time. He had to focus on something else…Kairi…He opened his eyes but couldn't see her. She'd been forced out of view by the medics. Was he still moving? He couldn't tell if the stretcher was still being rolled down the hall. He could hardly hear anything, despite the obvious noise that had to be going on around him._

_The next several hours were a blur. He was carted back and forth, from the ER of the hospital wing to the ICU and then possibly to an exam room. He didn't bother keeping track. Nurses and doctors came and went, poking him with needles and hooking him up to frightening-looking equipment. He held his tongue and let them do what they were good at. He tried not to concentrate on how badly his shoulder hurt, and how his right hand wasn't responding to any signals his brain sent. _

_He tried to find something calming or happy to think about, but it all led back to the fact that most of the war effort's leaders were dead, so he settled for not thinking about anything. It wasn't too difficult once he reached that point. Maybe they'd slipped something into his IV. Whatever it was, it was working, and he was grateful. _

_Any remaining sense of time he'd maintained was shot by the time he was moved to a proper, private room in a quiet section of the medical wing. His nerves were all fried, his mind was blank, and he was virtually paralyzed by the safety braces and machines he was harnessed to. Kairi was there, offering soothing words rendered useless by her shaky voice and tear stained face. Her eyes were still swimming in tears and she was breathing in that gasping way that accompanies sobbing._

_He wanted to comfort her. He did. But he had no idea how. He couldn't tell her it was okay, because he didn't know. He couldn't tell her he was okay, because he didn't know. He couldn't tell her Riku was okay, because…he didn't know. _

_He just didn't know._

_It was terrifying._

_So he didn't say anything._

**..:--X--:..**

He'd heard of some of the bull headed leaders of the Alliance, but he had been sure they had gone down with the ship, along with Highwind, Strife, and that general from Land of Dragons. Sora, he didn't expect would have the fortitude to carry on, much less with so much venom. It was…impressive.

"So, Leonhart moved the upper divisions to protect dear Radiant Garden." He mused aloud. "I'd say the old boy was fond of the place."

"Or he knows we're here." His accomplice stated.

"Always so negative." He tsked. "Old scar face left a chunk of his manhood in that attack. He's not up to par lately."

"Then the brat figured it out."

"I'd say the Keybearer has grown out of being called a brat. I think self righteous bastard is a better fit." He remarked, chuckling lightly.

"Sir?"

"They're moving our weapons like we ordered."

"You don't really think it's going to be that easy, sir?"

"No, of course not. We're not dealing with idiots. We're dealing with the weak. Sora is weak, as are the rest of his do-gooder kind; therefore, the rest of the Alliance is weak. Just because you cut the head off the chicken doesn't mean the bird won't maintain a guise of life for a while."

"…"

"I know, it's too early for such metaphors." He sipped at his coffee. "No doubt Squally was planning on using the army to surround us and take us in. This Sora character, though, he's usurping the masses by…well, the masses. He is intriguing."

"Does the army intrigue you too?"

"Oh dear, Mr. Franks, such attitude."

The smaller man flinched. "My apologies."

He waved him off. "Their little army is nothing but a last ditch effort. The Alliance may have unlimited supplies, and power and technology and what not, but that says nothing for the morale of the individual soldier. They're angry, scared, and reckless. Lucky for us, the same can be said for that Keybearer buffoon who thinks he knows what he's doing."

"And what is he doing, sir?"

"Inducing a cleansing process. He intends to purge us, I'm sure." He chuckled. "His six little missiles will do no such thing."

"He's located our other bases, sir."

"Not all of them."

"But those he has found, sir, he—"

"Oh, he'll destroy them, no doubt. Anger plus mechanized warfare can only equal large explosions." His accomplice didn't laugh, so he shrugged and continued. "We'll linger long enough to see them try to enact some half-assed attempt at admirable offensive." He sipped at his coffee again. "Then we'll wipe them out."

"The rest of the men will be arriving at dusk, sir."

"Good, good."

"What if this Sora kid gets enough people behind him?"

"Well, we'll have to wipe them out too, and Sora." He stood slowly. "I'll do that myself."

"Sir?"

"You heard me."

"Sir, he's a Keybearer. The Keyblade CHOSE him. He's a master—"

He laughed throatily. "He's a child. Besides, if his latest actions are any indication, he may not possess the Keyblade much longer."

"I don't understand."

"The Keyblade will only obey a swordsman of pure heart. Now, the other one, Riku, he was an exception. Maybe it's pure thoughts, pure repentance, purity nonsense. No matter. The darker and blacker a road Sora travels, the closer we get to the Keyblade rejecting him all together. Without that little lock-picker, he'll lose all standing in the Alliance. The Heartless will rise up and anarchy will roam free again."

"Quite devious, sir."

"Devious?" He snorted. "Real way with words, you have."

"Regardless of a Keyblade, sir, the boy can fight with anything resembling a sword. You—you aren't a soldier, sir."

"Wonderful observation. I'm not, but Corbin Franks is."

His accomplice blinked, "Sir?"

He tilted his head. "Let me worry about that. The time for that will come later. For now, let's turn our attention to this army."

"And what orders should I give, sir?"

"Tell the men to arm themselves." He replied. "Let the Alliance make the next move, and if they decide to foolishly engage us, we will have no choice but to fight back. We'll amuse them for a while." He pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Then the crushing shall commence."

**..:--X--:..**

Kairi leaned back, propping her heels up on the desk, hands fisted deep into her pockets as she watched Tabaeus pore over the files and papers. The printer had been running nonstop for the last two hours, and the private kept texting on her phone.

"Are you printing the novel or what?" She remarked.

Tabaeus jumped, as though she'd forgotten Kairi was there. "Oh, no, this—" She stuffed more paper into the tray on the printer. "This is actually the condensed version."

"Of what?" Kairi smoothed a crease in her skirt.

Tabaeus tapped her pencil on the desk and shuffled the papers around a little. "The meeting going on right now will determine the outcome of the arms exchange three days from now."

"I'm aware of that." Kairi said flatly. "If Sora gets all the support he needs, he gets to blow everything up. It sounds like he's gotten all of his ducks in a row. Why are you still his slave labor?"

"I'm not." She almost sounded indignant, but covered her flushed cheeks with a manila folder, stuffing a color-coded grid into the file and tossing it aside.

"What was that?" Kairi sat up.

"Nothing, just—"

"That looked like Neverland." She locked gazes with Tabaeus. "What are you guys doing researching Neverland? I've heard nothing but Radiant Garden for the last week. Is that where Corbin Franks is?"

Tabaeus blinked at her and snorted in relief. "No, no, he's…not there." She covered up quickly. "Neverland—That's for something else."

"Something else? You two have been digging into this Fractured Circle with the ferocity of a starving lion to a cow."

"Lovely."

Kairi lifted her shoulders. "Sora's entire attention span has been on taking these guys out. What's in Neverland?"

Tabaeus pulled the file out of arms' length and tipped it into one of the drawers, slamming it shut. "Nothing important." She said with a tone of finality.

Kairi regarded her sullenly for a moment, and then sat back with what she hoped was a nonchalant shrug. "Okay." She hesitated, and then sat up again. "Can you promise me something?"

Tabaeus hesitated too, studying Kairi for a moment. "Depends."

Kairi swallowed. "Does Sora trust you?"

Tabaeus furrowed her brows, "I bet he doesn't know my first name. I doubt that constitutes an assumption to trust."

Kairi dropped her gaze, folding her forearms on the desk. "I don't think he trusts me anymore."

"He might be a tad paranoid, but I'm sure he still trusts you."

"I'd like to think so, but lately—he's been shutting me out so much. It's like he doesn't want me around. He doesn't want me involved."

"Maybe he's just trying to protect you."

"Maybe?"

Tabaeus lifted her shoulders, "You think he confides in me? I'm the slave labor remember?" She shook another ream of paper at Kairi before stuffing it in the printer tray.

Kairi sat back, trying to appear relaxed. "Right, yeah, sorry. Hey, where's the rest of that intel you dug up? There were piles of that stuff. Is it back in that other room?" She nodded toward the back room, the door to which was closed and locked.

Tabaeus started jamming more papers into the files anxiously. "I…I don't know."

Kairi looked at her swiftly, "You aren't very good at lying, you know that?"

Tabaeus sputtered and shifted more files. "I'm not lying. I really don't know."

"What has he been doing back there?" Kairi swung her legs to the floor and stood up.

Tabaeus jumped to her feet with her. "It's a private room. He works back there alone. I'm not allowed back there."

"Well, I'm not involved, so what's the problem?" Kairi started toward the door.

"No." Tabaeus slide between her and the door.

Yeah, that didn't send up red flags.

Kairi put her hands on her hips. "What is he doing, Tabaeus?"

"It's classified."

"I know you're under his orders, but he could be endangering hundreds of people here." Kairi shouldered past her and twisted the door knob.

The knob didn't budge. It was locked. Kairi turned on Tabaeus, who looked pale and panicking.

"I was in there just a week ago. It was a few maps and pictures taped to the walls. He's not hiding the missiles in THERE, is he?" She gestured.

Tabaeus shook her head. "Of course not, but it's a private room. You don't have the authority—"

"Authority? Tabaeus, this is ME. You've known me as long as you've known Sora, but you're going to trust him over me?" Kairi turned to face her. "Trust me on this, Sora isn't stable. He's going to do something we're all going to regret. He's lost his footing and he thinks murder is the only justice to be served here. Tabaeus, please."

Tabaeus looked from one eye to the other, searching her. Kairi swallowed and held out a hand.

"I can handle whatever he's hiding. Just give me the key." She pleaded.

Tabaeus chewed her bottom lip, studying Kairi. Slowly, she reached into the top drawer of the desk and pulled out a key.

**..:--X--:..**

"I know where they're going to be and I have the strategy to take them all down." Sora stood before the newly instated Council of Allied Representatives.

The entire group was fresh and green, their eyes wide with innocence and newly burdened with responsibility. The fact that he was even standing up to take control appeared to relieve them of whatever strain two weeks of work had put on them.

"But I cannot execute this plan with the limited resources I have." He had been defending his idea for the past hour, although now it seemed like overkill. They were all terrified, meeting in secret, underground, miles from the old Headquarters. "Therefore, I humbly ask for the Council's support and the emergency power to wipe the Fractured Circle out of the Alliance and away from our civilians."

They were clapping. That was a good sign. A sign of popularity. He had to bank on that. Jane Porter stood near the back of the meeting chamber, arms folded defensively across her chest. This wasn't sitting well with her, but she wasn't supposed to be here anyway, so she refrained from speaking out. Instead, she mentally jotted down the standing ovation from the representatives as they started the vote.

Sora looked around at them all with an unreadable expression and pursed lips. He was calculating. Jane felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and she leaned against the wall, uncomfortable with how enthusiastic the Council was becoming of Sora's Blow It All Up Plan.

"Twilight Town is behind the plan!"

"Traverse Town supports the Major."

Queen Minnie sat with Hercules at the head table, looking equally unnerved at the vast support arising from the woodwork.

"Neverland is with Sora."

One by one, all of the Allied systems voted for granting Sora the emergency power: enough so that he would be the highest ranking leader in the Alliance.

"Wonderland pledges its support."

"Appoint Sora to top General!" Someone from the World that Never Was called.

Jane lifted a hand to cover her mouth as other voices seconded the statement. A few seconds after the declaration, the rest of the Council was almost yelling in tongues for Sora to step up as the total leader of the Alliance, amassing enough power to overrule any authority that opposed. That was a lot of power and responsibility to entrust one person with.

She looked around at them all before looking to Sora, who was waiting for the impartial representative from Radiant Garden to tally the votes.

The motion passed.

Jane left the chamber and called to report to Tifa.

She hoped those people knew what they were doing.


	8. Vengeance

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Tabaeus McCallister, the Fractured Circle, and Corbin Franks. If you've read up to this point, I hope this chapter is a nice, clarifying reward for it. This is where stuff hits the fan. Also, there is a point involving potions that may seem like a plothole, but I know what I'm doing. Just trust me. (wink) It's all part of the master plan. As always, constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Eight: Vengeance**

July 20th, 2:30 P.M.

The walls were covered with paper. Newspaper clippings, security photo printouts, maps, sketches, lists, drawings, and cross-connecting lines across a grid.

Kairi couldn't even begin to comprehend all that she was seeing. The information spread across the brick was almost unintelligible, but all the criss-crossing lines and red circles all pointed to a similar message, and it clicked dreadfully in her mind.

This wasn't a counter attack.

She crossed over to the map where the rest of the madness had taken root and spread. It was a full map of the entire Alliance: the worlds, the Gummi routes, and the darker corners. There were thumb tacks pushed through the paper. Radiant Garden was almost covered in green tacks. Three red tacks were stationed together at the top of the curve of the world. The other systems were spread out, dots of red and green coloring every world.

Dominating the map were yellow tacks. There was at least one tack on every world on the map, outnumbering the red and green tacks on Radiant Garden. They were in the empty space between the worlds too, like they had been stuck there absentmindedly, for later use. Black marker traced trade and travel routes among the worlds, interconnecting and crossing the map like some inky spider web.

Covering one hand with her mouth, Kairi backed up a step, allowing her eyes to sweep around the edge of the map, seeing again the rest of the obsession. Dozens of security photo print outs. All of the same face. Corbin Franks, blurred, in focus, camera flare in his eyes, making him appear alien. Lined note paper was taped haphazardly around the pictures, words and numbers scribbled and bunched together in Sora's preoccupied manner. Several things kept repeating themselves.

_Six._

_Fractured Circle._

_Alias?_

_Silver._

_Not the same._

_Hollow Bastion._

_Murderer._

_Different._

_More than one._

_5:30._

Kairi couldn't make heads or tails of any of what she was looking at, and part of her was glad she didn't understand. She turned in a slow circle, following the marker lines from the map to the pictures to the notes and frantic hand writing. Tabaeus was standing in the doorway, watching her, not looking at the walls. How could she not look at it? How could she ignore this?

"What is he doing?" Kairi gestured, locking eyes with the woman. "What the Hell is all of this? Explain it, now."

Tabaeus swallowed convulsively and ran a hand over her face. "I can't believe I showed you this. Oh, he's going to kill me."

"What?" Kairi crossed over to her. "Are you listening to yourself? Sora has gone off the deep end. This—" She waved her arms around. "This is not a counter attack. What do the tacks mean? Tell me, please!" Her voice caught and her eyes burned suddenly.

Tabaeus took a deep breath, backing away from Kairi. "I can't. The Major—" She paused, closing her eyes briefly. "I mean the General—"

Kairi's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Shit!" Tabaeus clenched her fists, hitting herself in the thighs. "I can't do this. I have to go."

Kairi watched with slack jawed disbelief as the private disappeared into the main study. She followed after her, watching her stuff files in the desk, lock the desk, and head for the door.

"No! No, no, no." Kairi beat her to the door and blocked her bodily. "Not until I get some fucking answers!" She yelled.

Tabaeus squared her shoulders and Kairi knew it was an unnecessary gesture. This woman was trained and knew a dozen different ways to get Kairi out of her way. Kairi was well aware she was outmatched, but she couldn't be in the dark anymore. Against her better judgment, she grabbed Tabaeus by the upper arms and shook her.

"What is Sora planning?!" She cried.

Tabaeus flinched and shrugged out of Kairi's hold, "I can't—Move—I don't want—"

Kairi moved between her and the door again and this time she knew she was past thin ice. She grabbed Tabaeus's wrist as she reached past her to the door. Tabaeus easily reversed the grip and twisted Kairi around, the angle of her wrist forcing her to bend over the chair by the door. She yelped and behind her, Tabaeus was shaking.

"I'm sorry." She sounded just short of hysteria. "I can't tell you what he's doing."

Hot tears blurred Kairi's vision and Tabaeus slackened her grip. Kairi was about to straighten and turn around, when Tabaeus lowered her head beside hers and dropped her voice to a desperate whisper.

"Green are us, red are them. Yellow are missiles."

Then she was gone.

Kairi spun around and saw the door slam closed behind the private as she left. She rubbed her wrist and scanned the study. It was empty. She was alone. Green…red…yellow…the tacks. Nearly tripping on the scattered papers on the floor, she staggered into the back room and skidded to a stop in front of the expansive map.

All the breath left her in one fell swoop and she gripped the desk in front of her, trying to keep herself from hitting her knees.

Yellow.

_Six._

_Hollow Bastion._

_5:30._

It clicked into place. She didn't need to count the yellow tacks.

Sora was launching over thirty missiles…tonight.

He wasn't planning on defeating the Fractured Circle. He was going to wipe them out.

**..:--X--:..**

"General. Do you hear me? They appointed him to top General!" Tifa fumed, slamming her phone onto the armrest of the wheelchair.

Leon regarded her sternly, lips pursed and one hand pressing against his temple. "The Council is set up so that there can be no one person in charge of everything."

"Well apparently no rules apply anymore." Tifa spun around to face him. "He has the Council brainwashed or something. They don't know what they're doing."

"Calm down. Maybe Jane got it wrong."

"They were chanting for him!" Tifa's eyes flashed. "They were begging for him to take over. How could she misunderstand that?"

Leon sat up as straight as he could, pushing the pain that ran down his spine to the back of his mind. "The missiles are moving. The Fractured Circle are going to be at the Hollow Bastion castle ruins in less than three hours. Even if Sora has managed to take power over the Council, there's nothing he can do in the limited time he has."

"You know as well as I do that this is no spur of the moment usurpation." Tifa ground her teeth together. "Sora has wanted nothing more than to take out these people since we got that first tape."

"I know that," Leon retorted. "But I was hoping he wouldn't go so far."

"Hoping?!" Tifa gaped. "We have to stop him."

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose and furrowed his brow. "I know, Tifa, I know, I know." He looked at her. "Tabaeus has lost all reliability. Kairi is virtually off the map. Sora is completely out of control, and the Council is about as useful to us as using duct tape to make a fire."

Tifa nodded, "King Mickey is still unconscious. All the action is going on in Radiant Garden, and we're stuck here."

Leon exhaled in exasperation and leaned over, pulling the drawer out of the bedside table and withdrawing two green bottles. Without a word, he handed one of the bottles to her. Tifa snatched it out of his hand and all but ripped the cork out of the top.

"Thank Kingdom Hearts. It's about time." She chugged the elixir.

Leon drained the healing liquid with much more control than she did, but he took a moment to marvel at how quickly she was able to down it all. Like a salve on a burn, the cool sensation of the elixir bubbled down his body, spreading across his chest and flowing down to the tips of his fingers and toes. Skin stitched back together and muscles healed at the expected accelerated rate. He relaxed at the sudden lack of pain, rolling his shoulders as the euphoric feeling wore off a few seconds later.

Beside him, in her wheelchair, Tifa had tilted her head back. Having downed the elixir much faster than him, the chemicals took hold of her faster and with more vehemence. She gagged slightly and dropped her head, rolling her neck and dropping the empty bottle to the floor.

"Come on." Leon swung his legs to the floor, finally escaping that damned hospital bed.

Tifa shot out of the wheelchair, ripping the brace from her leg and stretching with a frantic and impatient energy. Leon peeled off the gauze around his midsection and snatched up his cell phone, Tifa's being…effectively destroyed. Private McCallister had never returned his phone call. That was unacceptable. He dialed as he stalked out of the room, Tifa hot on his heels.

The phone rang several times.

"Pick up, damn it." He hissed, turning down the hallway.

"Sir?" Tabaeus picked up on the last possible ring.

"Your assignment under Sora is over." He snapped. "You are no longer under his authority."

"Sir?" She sounded strange.

Leon exchanged a look with Tifa, who lifted one eyebrow in question.

"Whatever he has you doing right now, stop it."

"I don't understand."

"Did you listen to the voicemail?"

"N-no."

Leon swallowed an oath and shoved the door of the wing open with more force than was needed. Tifa warded off the nurses that were trying to stop them. Queen Minnie was breaking away from the court yard, bee lining toward them. Leon nodded to Tifa and she took off to intercept the queen.

"Then listen to this now." He barked into the phone. "Keep Sora in Radiant Garden. If you have to knock him out with a bear tranquilizer, do it. He's amassed too much power and he's going to—"

"He has the missiles, sir." Tabaeus interrupted.

Leon stopped short, "How many?"

"A-All of them, sir. I'm sorry, I was following orders and—"

"What missiles? How many is 'all of them'?" He cut in.

"There are two or three on every Allied system where he and I pinned down the Fractured Circle stations. He's planning on launching them all simultaneously this afternoon, along with the original six in Radiant Garden."

Leon looked over to Tifa, who had gone pale again talking to the queen, who looked both happy and alarmed. He frowned and pressed the phone harder against his ear.

"And the battalion of soldiers?"

"They're arming themselves."

"For what? Those missiles will wipe out everything and everyone. Is Sora trying to destroy the world over there?" He hissed.

Tabaeus's inhale on the other end was sharp. "The missiles are stashed in the black armored trucks that Corbin Franks demanded. Small squads of the army are escorting it to the rendezvous point outside the palace ruins. The rest of the battalion is surrounding the area. The other divisions are manning the launch sites on the other systems."

"Where is Sora now?"

"I—I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I mean, sir, I haven't spoken with or seen him since he met with the Council and they named him General." Her voice was shaking now.

"Where are you?" Leon demanded.

"The edge of the Dark Depths, sir, overlooking the Great Maw."

"All right." Leon ran a hand through his hair, slowing his stride to the royal hangar to watch Tifa and Queen Minnie. "Lieutenant Lockhart and I are coming there. Do not, I repeat, do not under any circumstances engage Sora in any kind of confrontation. Maintain the guise of following his orders, but you are not to follow through with any instructions he gives you, you copy?"

"Yes, sir. When—"

Leon glanced up at the clocktower. It was closing in on three o'clock.

"We'll be there in less than an hour. Meet us at the Public Gummi Hangar Station downtown. We'll be in a local transport. We have negative time for bullshit, McCallister, so get all your intel together, especially on Sora's investigation and attack plans."

"Sir." She replied obediently.

Leon hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket, finding Tifa to be waving vehemently at him. He jogged over to her and the queen.

"Tabaeus is meeting us in Radiant Garden. She's back with us. What's going on?" He asked, looking from Tifa to Queen Minnie.

The queen tapped her hands together, "Mickey just woke up."

Leon felt the first twinges of relief he'd felt in almost three weeks. "Is he aware?"

Queen Minnie wiped at the tears in her eyes. "For the most part. He doesn't remember the Council meeting before the explosion. The last thing he does remember is speaking with you before going into the meeting." She told Leon. "Donald and Goofy are with him now."

Leon quickly explained the situation on Radiant Garden, leaving out the more apocalyptic information. The queen had just gotten her king back, and as dire as the situation was rapidly becoming, she deserved some happiness. Tifa nodded almost imperceptibly to the omissions as he explained. It took all of five minutes and three long breaths, and Queen Minnie was nodding with wide eyes.

"Take the fastest Gummi in the hangar." She urged.

The clock tolled three in the afternoon.

**..:--X--:..**

Tabaeus hung up the phone and bit her lip so hard she tasted blood.

Shit, shit, SHIT!

Shoving her phone into her back pocket, the private resumed her pacing. The scorched, carved up stone floor of the Dark Depths crunched under her feet as she walked to and fro, biting a fingernail and glancing every so often out at the Great Maw. The Hollow Bastion castle ruins marred the horizon, as it always had, only today it held much more foreboding to it.

The Colonel and the Lieutenant were coming here. Oh, her ass was so dead. That was, if the General didn't kill her first. Kingdom Hearts, why did she let Kairi go into that back room?! She told her about the tacks?! The title of worst soldier ever had just been passed on to her. All of her superiors were pissed at her, totally deserved, and she'd probably sprained Kairi's wrist, one of the few Tabaeus would actually call her friend, so she probably hated her now too, again totally deserved.

The watch on her arm was flashing three o'clock. The armored trucks would be pulling out and heading toward the base of old Rising Falls, long dry, in less than two hours. The battalion was arming up as she paced, and the General was MIA. Slowing her pacing, she closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. Freaking out wasn't going to help. What would the Colonel do? Rather, what was he going to do when he got here? Bad calming sample. What would Gandhi do?

Tabaeus inhaled and filled her lungs as deeply as she could, feeling her heart raging against her ribs. She exhaled and opened her eyes, overlooking the Great Maw again. A flock of black birds were wafting through the upper wind currents, coasting on wide spread wings. Oh, if only she could just fly away from this madness. No such luck. She balled her fists. Calm was getting her nowhere as quickly as freaking out was.

"Fuck!" She screamed in frustration.

Startled, a few wild cranes took flight from the ridge of the Dark Depths.

**..:--X--:..**

_Riku had a pale scar on his left shoulder, a jagged half moon shape. He had landed on a broken conch shell when they were 8 years old, during a sparring match. Sora was sure he was dying when he saw the blood, but the older boy had just laughed, called him a pansy, and rinsed the blood away in the ocean before getting back to their match._

_The scar was paler than the surrounding skin, the kind of scar that never really fades or heals completely. Chicks dig scars, Riku had told him. He had repeated the phrase at one of the earlier Council meetings, right when Leon walked in. Sora had nearly snorted his soda trying to stifle the laughter. _

_Riku had mentioned getting a tattoo once, in passing, partly in jest. Some variation of a pentagram, supposedly to ward off demonic possession. Sora never considered Riku the type to believe in paranormal stuff like that, but given the last few years, he had started to change his mind. He never did get that tattoo…said it would clash with his scar._

_That jagged half moon was all Sora had to go by._

_Aerith had a tattoo. A small butterfly, right at the base of her ankle. Sora had only seen it once, but he remembered finding it funny, he couldn't remember why now._

_Merlin only needed identification. He was the oldest, so the skin and bone density could be tested._

_Cloud was by far the easiest to pick out. Apparently when whatever was under his skin rose past a certain temperature, it melted through the flesh and vaporized. He was by far the hardest to look at._

_Try as he wanted to, needed to, Sora couldn't help but keep looking over at that half moon scar. Dental records, physical appearance, bone marrow, DNA, blood…it was all useless for identification at this point. The professionals standing behind him gave nothing away, no emotion, no expressions, like wax figures. They might as well have been one of the bodies too._

_Sora finally tore his eyes away, casting them over to the far wall. The men behind him took that as a sign that he was done._

"_Thank you, son. I'm so sorry again for your loss."_

_Don't apologize to me, he thought, but pursed his lips._

_The men walked around and lifted the sheets to cover the bodies, shrouding the mutilated, piece-meal, beyond-recognition corpses that mere days ago had been his friends and comrades. The room was cold and smelled like antiseptic and some sort of ammonia maybe._

_Kairi had wanted to come with him, support him, even as the horror shone from her eyes like head lights. He didn't let her come. She didn't need much persuasion. He was glad she didn't see what he'd just seen. His body ached and he longed to lie down, or at least sit down. He wished he could fall asleep and wake up last month, last year, years ago, before this mess started._

"_Are we done?" He muttered, not surprised at how hoarse he sounded._

"_Yes, we're finished. You look like you need rest. Let one of us escort you back to your room—"_

"_No." Sora waved his left hand as normally as he could, being strapped into a sling. "I can manage."_

"_Are you sure? You look pale—"_

_Sora waved them off heavily, turning and limping out of the room, not bothering to close the door behind him. It would never be behind him. Those images would be with him forever. There was no escape from this. This…this was Hell…He closed his eyes and steadied himself on the wall, biting back the pain, mental, physical, emotional, so hard that his lip started bleeding._

_Taking one calming breath, he continued to limp down the hall, leaning against the wall occasionally until he reached his room in the hospital wing. Kairi wasn't there. That was shocking, considering she'd been hovering over him like a hawk since the attack. He was relieved to be alone, and at the same time terrified._

_Dizziness washed over him and he grabbed the footboard of the bed, trying to make the floor stop moving. Nausea swept through him and his stomach rolled. Body buckling, Sora managed to turn enough to grab the trash can, retching violently into it and trying not to hear the sound of the sick hitting the bottom of the bucket._

_His throat burned and his eyes burned worse, stinging and blurring as the reservoir threatened to break. He panted, bent over the trash can and pinching his eyes closed. A single sob made his chest nearly collapse and he locked his arms against the floor, fighting his body's natural response._

_He didn't cry._

_He couldn't cry._

_The others needed him: Kairi, Donald, Goofy, the Queen. He couldn't spill tears on the dead when the living were still in danger. He trembled and wiped his mouth, breathing deliberately until the nausea and the gasping stopped._

**..:--X--:..**

3:30 P.M.

He stepped off onto the dry, barren rock where Rising Falls used to defy gravity.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen."

The disheveled group of soldiers all watched him, weapons hanging from belts or slung over shoulders. No shiny armor or matching uniforms. None clean shaven and not a single outfit escaped at least one tear and fray. They were a ravenous group, these men armed with a cause. They were no fools. They knew well enough that the Allied battalion escorting his nuclear warheads had enough firepower in three guns to wipe them all out.

It was power unparalleled.

Like fighting a bad cold by dying your hair.

He smiled warmly to his men, leaving the Gummi transports at his back. His assistant had bedecked all of their ships with fully operational cloaking mechanisms, rendering them all but completely transparent to the naked eye. How else would they have breached this place, the cornerstone of the Alliance, without detection?

"It's a fine day to make history, wouldn't you agree?"

The men shifted, a few grinned uncertainly. Their orders had been coming through his assistant: manning bases on other worlds, running communications, securing small towns and supplies and transportation. Of course, he only showed his face to his closest partners, and even then, it wasn't like they actually saw him most of the time.

Inhaling the air, thick with the smell of the afternoon and dusted concrete, he canted his head toward his second in command. Oh, if only the imbecile knew how much his identity was going down in the anals of history, how many times his name would appear alongside this date in the books.

All for a lie.

Pursing his lips through a smile, he looked out toward the Great Maw. The steeples of the tallest buildings barely poked out of the hilly landscape barring them from the main town.

"Where are the rest of our comrades?" He asked silkily.

"There are 300 men arming each base on the other systems, sir." His second replied promptly. "With us now we have 800, but 1500 more will be arriving within the hour."

"Well, let's hope so." He chuckled, "The exchange will take place at precisely 5:30, as I'm sure you're aware. No doubt Squally and the rest of the cabbage patch kids will be attempting their valiant double crossing soon. How should we expect to pit our 800 against their battalion of 1300? No, I like 2300 against their 1300 much better."

"Sir."

The tone of the man's voice made him look to the younger man.

The second paused a beat. "That Keybearer, Sora, was elected to head General by popular vote in the new Allied Council."

The leader of the Fractured Circle studied his second for a moment, "Don't look like such a wounded bird. You almost had me worried."

"I have reason to believe he is not…stable, sir."

"Good, the more unsteady that buffoon is, the more reckless he will be. Their surge of confidence in him will soon be exhausted and his plans will all fail." He carefully tightened his gloves, "Assemble the rest of the 1500. I want them all armed and in position within the hour."

The man hastened off to obey and the leader nodded to the present men, walked briskly away, to the edge of the cliff side of the Rising Falls. The Alliance was outsmarted, outmanned, and out-moraled. He would let that fool Keybearer play his cards, and let him send his men into the pit.

"Let them walk into the mouth of the lion."


	9. Forsaken

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Tabaeus McCallister, Corbin Franks, and the Fractured Circle. Woohoo! Today I leave the world of teenage-hood! Bah, two decades old and still not ruler of the world...Tsk, tsk, where ARE my priorities? All right, this chapter puts it all out on the table. Any fog that's lingering about should be cleared up by this, except for Franks, I'm keeping that one to myself for the next chapter. I apologize if the end is a little hokey, I was running low on creativity. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Nine: Forsaken**

July 20th, 4:00 P.M.

McCallister wasn't in Ansem's Study.

That was his first warning.

The study itself was a mess: papers splashed across the desk, sticking out in a crumpled state from the hastily locked drawers, computer screen blank, printer still running. The private had abandoned her post. Kairi's purse was hanging off the back of one of the chairs. The door to the back room was open. The pieces clicked into place.

Sora closed the study door silently behind him, walking across the room with footsteps muted by the soft, littered papers. There was no light on in the back room, and the hastening dusk was quickly swallowing any natural light that would have illuminated the interior. He stopped just short of the threshold, tilting his head to peer into the dimmed chamber.

Kairi's back was to him, her body visibly trembling. She knew. She had seen his maps and diagrams, had read his research and plans, and put it all together and drawn a conclusion, an accurate one if her shaking was an indication.

"You aren't supposed to be here, Kairi."

She spun sharply on her heel to face him. "What is this?"

His expression remained flat, unrevealing. "It'd be easier to saw what it isn't."

Her eyes wide, showing white all around the blue of her irises, she waved an arm at the wall of maps. "Fine. What isn't it? Healthy? Ethical? Normal? Sora, this is too far. Six? Six missiles?!"

She was trying to play dumb.

He lifted his shoulders. "It isn't nothing, which is what Leon is far too happy doing."

Kairi blinked once at him, looking shocked. "Nothing? Half the Alliance is blown to Hell! What is he supposed to do?"

Sora narrowed his eyes, sharpening his gaze. "Something. Anything."

"This?" Kairi's voice cracked and she shook her head. "No, Sora. No. This is wrong."

Sora stepped around her, blocking her view of the wall. "I don't have time to get into this with you right now."

The Fractured Circle was probably already arming up at the castle ruins. All of the missiles were in place, and the Allied soldiers were preparing themselves for the faux exchange. The armored trucks would be loading up and moving to the edge of the Great Maw soon. McCallister was MIA, not that he trusted her much anyway, so he would have to personally oversee the maneuvering of the other worlds' missiles, sending them the coordinates for launch.

"Sora…"

He really did not have time to waste in this room with her.

Sora turned on her quickly, his hand flashing up and prodding gently at her forehead. "Sleep." He whispered, a soft undertone to his voice carrying the Slumber Spell. Blue light briefly emanated from his palm, encompassing her skull and swallowing her face in a warm glow.

He watched her eyes glaze over as the spell faded, drawing her eyelids down as the resistance in her body dissipated. Her legs buckled and he swept an arm under her knees, another around her shoulders, lifting her from her falling stance and hefting her up against him. Her head lolled into the crook of his neck and he carried her out of the room, to the computer area where they had moved the furniture from the back room.

Sora lowered her onto the bed and she rolled bonelessly onto the mattress, oblivious to everything now. The spell would wear off in an hour. That was all the time he needed. It wasn't like she could stop anything now anyway. No one could.

His phone started buzzing against his hip. He walked out onto the bridge connecting the computer area to Ansem's Study, pulling out his phone and looking at it thoughtfully before tossing it over the railing, sending it plummeting to the concrete hundreds of meters below.

By the time it smashed into the floor, Sora had left the study and was making his way to his awaiting battalion.

**..:--X--:..**

The fastest Gummi in the Royal hangar coasted to rest in the public station in downtown Radiant Garden. Tifa only had to breathe in the heavy afternoon air to feel the gravity of the situation. The sky was too clear, and the Marketplace outside the public station was too normal. People bustling about their daily business. A chill descended her spine as her remaining good eye was pulled toward the sore ruins of the old Hollow Bastion castle.

Leon stepped out of the Gummi after her. If he felt the same sense of unease she did, he hid it with a chilly stare across the hangar. They both crossed the vacant hangar in stiff strides. Tifa tried not to wince at how nonchalant everyone around them appeared to be. They had no idea what was going to happen in less than two hours.

Indeed, the only person showing anything besides casual cheerfulness was Private McCallister, who was trying and failing to look calm as she bounced on the balls of her feet, just inside the hangar doors. The pallid, bewildered look on her face sent Tifa's nerves on higher alert than they already were.

"Where's Sora?" Leon demanded.

"I don't know." Tabaeus hugged her arms to herself.

Leon glared across the hangar impatiently. "Damn it, McCallister, I ordered you to have the intel ready."

"I'm sor-My apologies, sir, but he's just disappeared. I can't reach him by phone and I've checked everywhere."

"You're sure he's here on Radiant Garden?" Tifa stood shoulder to shoulder with Leon, a double front against the shaking woman.

"Yes, ma'am. He wouldn't leave so close to the attack." She assured.

"Walk." Leon barked and promptly led the way out of the hangar.

Tabaeus hastened after him like a dog with her tail between her legs, and Tifa had too much anxiety and adrenaline coursing through her to feel any pity for her.

"What is he planning, specifically?" Leon ordered icily.

A few townspeople glanced his way as they passed, startled by the tone of his voice. Tifa bit her lip hard and tried to smile to them.

"We should warn these people." She hissed through her smile.

Leon glanced over his shoulder at her and she lengthened her stride to walk even with him, Tabaeus trailing behind and rattling off details.

"There's no sense in causing a panic. Sora may have gone off the deep end, but he's still a Keybearer. He still can't attack civilians." He murmured.

Tifa exhaled sharply through her nose, locking her jaw and looking to Tabaeus. "Sora has missiles on every system?"

Tabaeus nodded, "They're all armed and ready to launch from the Allied stations. They won't launch without his direct command, though."

"Which means we only have to stop Sora to stop this massacre." Tifa summarized.

Leon shook his head, " 'only'. Easier said than done if we can't find him. Does anyone else know the full extent of his plans?"

Tabaeus looked just short of hyperventilation. "Kairi knows."

"He told her?" Tifa blinked, surprised.

"I showed her the plan." The private answered.

"When?" Tifa asked.

"Just an hour ago. I panicked and left, and then you called me, sir."

Leon's jawline was sharp and furious. "You showed her, so it's all written down?"

"Yes, sir. Maps, articles, notes, research, it's all in Ansem's study."

"Is Kairi still down there?"

"I don't know, sir."

"What about the divisions I sent in? Where are they?" Leon asked.

Tabaeus gestured and broke away from them, toward the overpass of the gorge. Tifa exchanged a look with Leon and they both crossed over to stand by her, overlooking the Great Maw. Hundreds of feet below, Tifa saw the black armored trucks, hidden almost out of sight amongst the charred and blackened rocks. A dozen sentries were standing guard. The rest of the battalion was spread out, 1300 soldiers total, checking their guns and armor and swords and ammunition: preparing themselves for battle.

She leaned away from the scene, turning to look again at the unsuspecting natives meandering the streets. Even though the trucks blended in and the soldiers were wearing camouflage, someone should have noticed that an army was assembling by now. She swiveled back to look out across to the castle ruins.

"Has there been any activity over there?" She questioned.

Tabaeus chewed her bottom lip. "No detectable activity, and I've been scanning it every ten minutes. If there's anything going in or out of there, it's being covered up somehow."

The end of her word cut off as the private's cell phone started ringing shrilly on her belt.

"Check it." Leon said, not looking at her, but still leaning over the wall toward the army.

Tabaeus fumbled, almost flinging her phone as she ripped it off her belt. "It's the General." She picked up and covered her eyes. "S-sir?" She answered.

As soon as she spoke, Leon pulled his phone out of his pocket as it vibrated quietly, whipping it up at his ear. "What is it?" He asked, not as sharply as before.

Tifa nibbled a fingernail, unsure where to look. The only sights that could greet her were the agonizingly ignorant civilians on her left, the army manning for war on her right, the empty skyline behind her, and the two people on the phone in front her. Leon's and Tabaeus's words seemed to melt together, forming an incoherent mess that she couldn't follow if she wanted to.

Leon hung up first, catching Tifa's expectant eye. "Donald says the King is up and about and has been informed of the situation. He's flying out within twenty minutes to meet with the Council."

"What is he trying to do?" She asked, moving around Tabaeus to better focus on what Leon was saying.

"He's going to convince the Council to revoke Sora's authority and give power of the divisions back to the King."

"Even if he does, news won't reach the lieutenants in time to stop anything." Tifa pointed out.

"I guess we're on our own then, because that's the best he can do right now." Leon pocketed his phone, watching Tabaeus hang up. "What did he say?"

Tabaeus jumped when he addressed her. "He wants me to meet him at the old battlements on the edge of the Great Maw. He's leading the attack from there."

"He's not joining the troops on the front line?" Tifa lifted an eyebrow.

"No, it's—" Tabaeus rubbed her forehead. "It's complicated. Our divisions are attacking theirs as soon as the trucks reach the rendezvous point. Now the trucks are carrying fake warheads. We're surrounding them and detaining them, and then he's pulling back and launching the missiles."

"All of them at once?" Leon demanded.

"Yes, sir."

Tifa straightened, "All right. I'm going to the old battlements." She locked eyes with Leon. "I'll stop him from detonating the missiles and sending the soldiers out. You and Tabaeus go down to Ansem's Study and find any means of contacting the other worlds to stop this."

Leon nodded and was already turning that direction, "Come on, McCallister. Show me everything you two have found out."

Tabaeus ducked her head, nearly jogging to keep up with Leon's gait. Watching their retreating backs for a moment, Tifa turned and headed in the opposite direction, toward the old battlements of Radiant Garden. The clock in the square chimed a merry 4:30 in the afternoon.

**..:--X--:..**

_The roar of a thousand freight trains._

_Blood staining vision red._

_Screaming._

_Eyes burning from flying ash._

_Heated metal searing exposed skin._

_Vocal chords strained from cries of pain._

_Black._

_Sora lifted his head too sharply, sending ramrods of pain from the base of his skull to his tailbone. The ache coiled around his ribs and settled in his stomach. Closing his eyes again briefly, he pressed the back of his left hand to his mouth, swallowing convulsively._

_The private room of the Disney Castle Hospital Wing swallowed any noise he may have made. Luckily he hadn't been making a lot of noise lately. Opening his eyes again, he looked across the reflective white room, drinking in the derelict, dimly lit atmosphere. It was bleak._

_Just four hours ago he had identified the bodies. It was exhausting, in every way, and no matter how hard he fought it, by the time he got back to his room he was fading. He didn't want to sleep. He was wary of the impending nightmares that darkened sleep lately, but oblivion dragged him under anyway, and now he was paying for it. A fresh sheen of sweat beaded his forehead and he blinked a few times, letting the haze of his vision settle and clear._

_He could not keep doing this._

_He could not accept being this…this invalid, this charity case, this broken person who was scared all the time. He was a Keybearer. He had ripped apart Heartless, faced Organization XIII, and taken down Nobodies taller than skyscrapers. What made this enemy so different?_

_They were unknown._

_He had no idea who had instigated this attack. Not a fucking clue. _

_Looking down at his hands, Sora turned his right hand palm up, arms resting across his knees. The dressing was thick from his wrist to the tips of his fingers. The metal braces around every surviving finger were warm against his skin. The doctors had amputated the rest of his pinky and ring finger to the quick, leaving only three fingers on his right hand._

_Useless._

_How was he supposed to handle a weapon with three fingers? He looked forlornly at his left hand, clasped awkwardly over his thigh. Work with what you were given, he supposed. Blinking away the fatigue, he opened his palm and inhaled deeply, focusing on summoning the Keyblade._

_Nothing happened. Knitting his eyebrows together, he concentrated harder. With a timid flash, the sword flickered to reality…over his right hand. The handle fell heavy over his wrist and rolled down his hand, clattering to the floor. He hissed, recoiling as the Keyblade smacked against the floor, disappearing in a burst of light._

_Sora breathed deliberately, willing the nerve-enhancing blood away from his throbbing hand, cradling the limb to his chest and rocking back and forth to quell the sudden nausea. He stifled a whimper and stomped his foot in frustration._

_Useless, useless, useless!_

_Burning the tears away, he blew out a breath from his quivering lungs and opened his left palm, holding it out over his knee, focusing more intently, this time, only on his left hand. The timid flash, the flickering sword, the fingers closed. The handle of the Keyblade felt odd and heavy and awkward in his left hand. The tip bowed toward the floor and Sora tightened the muscles in his left arm, tilting the sword back up, level._

_Still holding his right hand close to his chest, he stood and lifted the Keyblade in his left. His arm sagged with the unfamiliar weight and his right arm seemed to twitch indignantly, wanting the sword in full knowledge that it was impossible to carry it. His friends and comrades were dead, there was no changing that, but he sure as Hell wasn't going to let whoever killed them breathe much longer either._

_Revenge was a welcome salve on the burning in his blood, cooling his skin and fueling his muscles, shunning the earlier fatigue. Where there was a will, there was a way, and the Keyblade was his way. The cool, tingling sensation spread through his limbs, distracting him from his pounding right hand. As his eyes traced the jagged teeth of the sword's edge, his mouth twitched._

_My Keyblade come, my will be done._


	10. Horizon

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Tabaeus McCallister, Corbin Franks, and the Fractured Circle. There be much in the ways of plot twists in this chapter, and more questions be answered. Hehe, when I wrote that, I was speaking like a pirate in my head…Anyway…As always, constructive feedback is always welcome and appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Ten: Horizon**

July 20th, 5:00 P.M.

He moved among them like a cobra among common garden snakes. Lieutenant Lockhart had practically looked straight at him, but she didn't see who he was. She glanced past him like she would have any commoner in the Marketplace. He watched them: the Lieutenant, Colonel Leonhart, and that imbecile private who'd been helping the Keybearer.

It wasn't hard to overlook someone if you didn't want to see them.

He'd left the Fractured Circle's base in the castle ruins, leaving his second with full command. He couldn't just wander into the thicket of enemy lines wearing the face of the Alliance's executioner, so he'd…adjusted. Lips curling unpleasantly, he drifted toward the sectors of the old city, keeping a wary eye on the Colonel. In less than half an hour, either they would all be dead, or the Fractured Circle would be dead. Or perhaps they would take the Alliance down to Hades with them.

Now that was an interesting concept.

He navigated the crowds like a leaf in a stream, winding around the civilians and harmlessly maneuvering between buildings, until the two Allied leaders and their noble idiot had disappeared from view. Turning his back on the town, he followed his mental map to the old study of Ansem the Wise.

If the Alliance was this easy to penetrate, how in Kingdom Hearts had they amassed such notoriety for cunning and strength? It was pathetic, really.

He tilted his head away from the windows as he crossed the last patch of tourist traps, catching his reflection. The soft face of a feeble old man smiled concealingly back at him. The wrinkled, scarred skin was far too aged for his taste, but it was an inconspicuous guise, so not a massive inconvenience. The sooner he was able to take a more…appealing form, the better.

There were no guards manning the old study. How arrogant of them, really. Anybody could just sneak right in and view all of the Alliance's little dirty plots and history. Like him, for instance.

Slinking down the hall, he opened the door to the study and immediately knew he had struck gold. The old chamber of Ansem the Wise was a wreck, thoroughly disorganized. Papers clung to every surface and the computer and printer sounded like they were under attack. Pursing his lips, the leader of the Fractured Circle swept around the overturned chair and peered toward the massive computer room.

The catwalk leading to the technological center overlooked a grand and intimidating corridor, lit only by the flashing monitors and buttons of who only knew what kind of information. Very intriguing. But, he pushed onward past curiosity to the computer chamber. This room was also full of furniture and recently moved boxes.

"What a sty." He remarked thoughtfully, casting a judging eye over the mess.

His gaze caught on a body, motionless on a displaced bed. Kairi, one of the seven Princesses of Heart, slept oblivious to his presence. He tilted his head and drew closer, noting the complete lack of expression on her face…totally swallowed by oblivion.

"Bit of an inconvenient time for a nap, I'd say." He murmured, leaning forward and brushing some auburn hair from her eyes. He got no response. "Well, well, Master Keybearer. My dear, your rebel of a boyfriend is really cutting his own wrists with this ordeal, isn't he?" He remarked softly, straightening and surveying the rest of the computer room. "Severing all connection with emotion…even striking you down with a Sleep Spell…no doubt to keep you out of the way. Noble, misguided…as it may be…You'd be smart to get as far from ickle Sora as possible."

The sound of a door opening loudly reached his ears and he turned back to face the catwalk.

"It's all back here, sir." The girl was stammering.

"What's printing?" Ah, Colonel Scarface.

"Satellite images of Fractured Circle bases in Neverland. We also found evidence of their activity at the End of the World." She answered.

His ears perked. So they knew about Neverland? Impressive. And End of the World? How naïve did they think the Fractured Circle was? He wasn't going to build a base of a noble cause in the breeding grounds of those Heartless demons. Still…labor under whatever delusions make you happy, fools.

The sound of another door opening, and he drew closer to the study, peering into the lit chamber to see that Leonhart and the private had gone into some side room. They were speaking, but their voices were unintelligible from where he was. From the looks of how vehement the Colonel was, he would make a good guess that all was not well in Allied Town.

Smirking, he looked back to Kairi, who slumbered on blissfully.

"I hope you don't mind, m'lady." He whispered, rolling his shoulders. "But a gentle young girl is much more easily trusted than a weathered old man."

He clenched his jaw and rotated his neck, flexing his hands. The broad bones of his shoulders and ribcage shuddered, constricting under the muscle walls. Scraggled, gray-brown hair fell away, leaving him bald as the skin over his body shifted and tightened, smoothing out wrinkles and leaving only soft, richly tanned skin. As he transformed, fingernails grew clear and narrow out of suddenly smooth and silky hands. Auburn hair framed the new narrow-jawed face, with large blue eyes shining clearly now.

Clothes, shabby and patched, were infused with the blood of vibrance, spreading friendly pink and silver, shrinking into a skirt that hugged slender legs, and constricted around morphing feminine curves. Bones shrank and slid under the new skin, and he watched his reflection as he transformed into a perfect replica of the sleeping girl not ten feet away.

"Thank you, princess." His voice was high pitched and bubbly like hers. "I won't need it for long."

He turned toward the study and slipped across the catwalk, entering the room and crossing toward the back room, occupied by the talking soldiers.

Just long enough to tie up a few loose ends.

**..:--X--:..**

Lieutenant Armand Walker lay on his belly on the crest of the dusty brown dunes of Pride Lands. He and his men all wore the tanned uniforms, making them invisible on the landscape. Walker lifted his binoculars, focusing them on the little white structure poking out of the rocky side of the dry riverbed.

So far he had only seen a few men wandering around outside, but he kept his radio ready as his wrist watch neared 6:00 in the hot desert afternoon. Behind him the men kept the sand out of the mechanics of the launch site, hidden mostly underground, but the tip of the missile poked out, waiting patiently for its moment to light up the desert.

**..:--X--:..**

Tifa reached the battlements as quickly as she could without practically steam rolling everyone in her path. She avoided crashing into several corners of buildings as she swung around them, pushing away from the wall with her hands. Damned limited depth perception.

The Marketplace curled around the lips of the Great Maw, ending just before the Maw widened into a small purple canyon. She found the old ramparts of the ancient Radiant Garden defensive walls and spotted a few guards standing with loaded rifles near the buckled concrete entrance. She slowed to a quick walk and smoothed her clothes, striding up to the soldiers.

The sentries looked unsure how to proceed as she stalked up to them.

"Stand aside." She ordered, slowing slightly when they didn't move to obey. "I have information for the General from Private McCallister."

They exchanged looks and one guard spoke up. "Lieutenant, we were not informed that you were back in Radiant Garden, ma'am. Disney Castle—"

"I got better." She snapped. "Now I order you to let me pass."

"The General—"

Tifa shot the heel of her hand into the speaking soldier's jaw, snapping his head back and knocking him thoroughly unconscious. The other guard hardly had time to lift his rifle or send up alarm before she drove her elbow into his sternum. She swung into a roundhouse and connected her heel to his temple. The man toppled bonelessly next to his comrade.

"Nothing personal." She hopped over the bodies and jogged up the stairs leading out onto the battlements.

Sora stood alone at the edge of the wall, overlooking the Great Maw and the expansive plain leading up to the ruins of old Hollow Bastion. One other man stood in uniform on the other end of the battlement, looking through binoculars and relaying some gibberish into his radio. Sora's shoulders were relaxed and level, no tight muscles or clenched fists. His stance was loose and at ease.

"Are you insane?" Tifa barked.

The other soldier started slightly, looking to Tifa and then to Sora. Sora offered no physical reaction, not even turning his head toward her. Tifa marched out from under the overhang and onto the open air of the battlement, facing him at the railing.

"Hey, are you so far gone that you think this is the answer?" She stomped her foot, cracking the concrete block under her foot.

"Sir—" The binocular soldier started.

Sora lifted a hand, silencing him, and tilted his head toward Tifa, eyes never wavering from the Great Maw. "How do you teach an animal not to jump on you?"

Tifa dropped her hands to her sides with a slap. "We are so beyond not having time for this." She waved one hand at the castle ruins. "You have to call off this attack."

"When he jumps on you, you bop him on the nose." Sora continued, ignoring her. "Soon, the dog learns not to jump on you, or nose-bopping with follow…It's a consequence of his actions."

"Are you listening to yourself? You have over two dozen missiles, armed to launch all over the Alliance, killing hundreds, possibly thousands, of people—"

"Dogs." Sora cut her off. "The Fractured Circle is composed of nothing but cowardly dogs, animals. I'm doing this—" He looked to Tifa slowly, "—to protect civilians, people who depend on the Alliance for protection."

"This is not for their protection, you ass." She hissed. "This is just selfish vengeance. Blowing these men to Hell is not going to change what happened. It won't bring them back. We've all lost people, but if you kill a murderer, you're becoming a murderer yourself."

Sora turned to face her wholly. "If it wasn't for those 'people', we would still have a capable, experienced Council. I would still have these fingers." He lifted his hand, "You would still have your eye. Riku, Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and Cloud would still be alive."

Tifa bristled.

Sora leaned toward her, "And you're telling me that no part of you wants to see these animals burn?"

Tifa swallowed hard and narrowed her eyes. "Don't even try to justify this. Riku and the others would be ashamed of what you're doing, what you're planning to do."

The soldier with the binoculars walked over, murmuring a few words to Sora, who nodded curtly and took the radio transmitter, lifting to his mouth and pushing the knob while still holding Tifa's gaze.

"Ready the men and get the trucks out there. Move out, boys." He hung the radio at his hip and dismissed the soldier, who made quick haste off the battlement.

"I knew you were a fast healer, but this fast?" He remarked absently.

"Nothing an elixir can't handle."

"Ah, Tifa, you know the rules." He tsked her. "Items are only to be used in emergency, life-endangering situations."

"Well, considering you are about to completely destroy what the Alliance stands for, I think I can make an exception." She seethed. "Don't call in this launch."

"Then what happens when Franks finds out the missiles in the truck are fakes?" Sora canted his head, looking back out to the canyon. "Then the leader will send all his troops to attack ours."

"How many troops does Corbin Franks have? We're better trained than they are. Our soldiers are armed and skilled. They would wipe out his ragtag minutemen." Tifa commented, eying the radio.

"Corbin Franks is not the one in charge of the Fractured Circle." Sora spoke softly.

There was a rumble as the black trucks below roared to life, the soft crunch of rock under tires echoing up the sharp slopes of the canyon walls. The trucks pulled out of the overhang slowly, with roughly a dozen soldiers flanking each truck. Tifa watched them before looking back to Sora.

"On the tape—"

"He lied."

"What point is there in that?"

"Anonymity. We fear what we do not understand and do not see. The nameless assailant." Sora responded. "Corbin Franks is an alias, a fake name, or maybe he's framing some poor bastard. Something about this doesn't fit, doesn't feel right."

Tifa gazed around the Great Maw, where the rest of the battalion was moving into a surrounding position. "Where do I begin with that statement. Look, our men can fight off whatever troops they throw at us. We don't need the missiles. That's overkill."

"That's war." He immediately countered, looking down at his watch. "5:25. Their representatives should be engaging us soon for the exchange."

Tifa grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to face her. "I cannot allow you to see this through. You're unstable and you've convinced yourself that this is justice. This is not justice, this is manslaughter."

"They aren't people, don't you get it? They're just mindless beasts." He said.

"Then this is animal cruelty."

"I've fought too hard to just cop out now." He said.

The radio crackled and a voice came over the static. "Their men are in our sights, a hundred yards out. Are we open to engage, sir?"

Sora took up the radio. "Open to engage, Commander. Wait until all of their ambassadors are close enough, then execute Order 12."

"Sir." The radio responded.

"Is that when you betray the agreement and cut them all down?" Tifa hissed.

"You catch on quick." Sora cupped his palms over the railing.

"This makes you as bad as them. No, it makes you worse. You're a Keybearer. You're supposed to represent hope and justice and life, not destruction and reckless violence. I'm surprised the Keyblade hasn't rejected you already." She spat

"That's because I have control of the Keyblade. It obeys me, not the other way around."

"Yes, but it CHOSE you, and it can un-choose you if you keep this up."

Sora rolled his eyes and lifted his left hand. The thick handled body of Keyblade Oblivion flashed against his palm. He looked at her nonchalantly. "I don't think so."

Before Tifa could reply, a burst of colored movement drew both their eyes to the armored trucks. Yellow smoke was pouring out of the back of the trucks, and the Allied soldiers, their faces covered in gas masks, were moving like black animals in the haze, taking down the ambassadors of the Fractured Circle. The trucks suddenly accelerated, flying over ragged terrain toward the castle ruins. The soldiers left behind swung their weapons, and the cacophony of gunfire multiplied as it echoed around the canyon.

The armored trucks launched off the natural rock ramps leading up the castle, nearly going airborne as they collided with the rock caves and hidden niches in the castle's base. The trucks exploded, fire rippling along the base of the castle. Tifa gasped and took a step backward as the thunder of the explosion reached her.

"What, we're kamikazes now?" She rounded on Sora again.

"My men weren't in that truck. It was being driven by transmitted signals from here." He pointed down to the area where the trucks had left from the battlement. He took up the radio again and spoke into it. "Squad Delta and Squad Gamma, move in and circle around the back of the castle. Block them all in."

Tifa clenched her jaw and watched him put the radio back at his belt. Tabaeus had said that none of the missiles would launch if Sora did not directly order them to, and that radio was the key for that communication. Sora looked at her and she locked eyes with him.

"You're either with me or against me, Tifa." He lifted his shoulders.

She gritted her teeth. She had no intention of following him or letting him keep control beyond the next five minutes, but if she didn't at least offer some form of olive branch, he was never going to listen to her or reason for that matter.

"Fine." She hissed, and it almost hurt to say it. "I'm with you."

**..:--X--:..**

Lieutenant Jessica Anderson leaned against the thick trunk of a tree outside the Allied station in Deep Jungle, one leg propped against the gnarled bark. Squinting in the afternoon sunlight, she took a long drag from her cigarette and withdrew the stick, exhaling a mouthful of smoke.

The black steel walls of the Fractured Circle base were barely visible through the vines and trees, natural camouflage. Closing her lips around her cigarette again, she straightened from the tree and exchanged a look with a subordinate, who was manning the missile control panel. The guy looked nervous and sweaty. She wondered idly how he'd look in about half an hour.

**..:--X--:..**

5:30 P.M.

Tabaeus didn't speak too much as the Colonel paced across the floor of the back room of Ansem's study. Everything was pretty well spread out for him to see, anyway. At this point, he might have just struck her down if she got too annoying. That line was thin enough. So she hung back, answering quickly any questions he shot at her.

"You said Kairi came down here." He finally rounded on her. "How long ago did you leave her?"

Tabaeus bit her lip. "An hour. She must have left."

Leon dropped his gaze, thinking. "That's probably a good thing. The farther she is from town and the Great Maw, the better off she'll be. We can worry about that later."

The phone rang and he picked it up in the middle of the first ring. "What?"

The King's voice was loud over the speaker and Tabaeus listened carefully.

"Leon, the Council isn't budging at all. They're convinced that Sora has their best interests at heart and they won't take back the power they've given him."

"Then we'll have to take it back by force. Tifa's gone after Sora at the old battlements." Leon informed.

The sound of movement in the main study caused Tabaeus to turn, but nobody was there, so she looked back to watch Leon as he spoke with the King. The mouse's voice came over again.

"I don't know if that will be enough. It sounds like the soldiers are loyal to Sora now. They're going to follow his orders whether we take his power away or not."

"What are you saying? There's nothing we can do? I can't accept that." Leon barked.

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying we gotta act fast or this is gonna happen. I'm on my way to the battlements now. Meet me there. If Tifa hasn't taken Sora down yet, we'll have to do it ourselves. If the men never get the order, they won't attack, right?"

Leon didn't look overly confident in the idea, but it was better than doing nothing, Tabaeus supposed. "All right, I'll be there." He hung up and turned to Tabaeus. "You," He said the word without any warmth, "Stay here."

"Yes, sir." She answered in a small voice, recoiling into herself. "Sir, I didn't know this was—"

"Just stay here." He brushed past her toward the back room entrance, but stopped short. "We thought you left." He said.

Tabaeus turned to see who he was talking to and saw Kairi standing in the doorway, gripping the frame in one hand. The rage and panic that Kairi had attacked her with earlier was gone. The girl looked almost comfortable.

"Nope, I stuck around." The Princess of Heart replied.

**..:--X--:..**

Sergeant Cassidy Ford sat in the snowy benches of the mountains, overlooking the icy ravine of Land of Dragons, watching the sentries outside the enemy base swap shifts. She smirked, nudging her fellow soldier in the ribs and nodding toward the small station. He shook his head at her and kept rubbing his hands together for warmth.

Ford looked over to where Lieutenant Cape was leaning over the shoulder of the soldier who was running the control panel of the missile…She couldn't remember his name. Her eyes traced the silhouette of the silver plated missile, rendered invisible by the white snow swirling around it. She had just been moved to active duty, and she'd never seen a real explosion before. Turning back, she watched the Fractured Circle cronies switch out to guard their little building.


	11. Veritas

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Corbin Franks, the Fractured Circle, and Tabaeus McCallister. We're almost to the end, people! Chapter Twelve will be the last! (crickets) I know deep down you're all upset. I'm starting to work on the second installment now, but school is a buttface, so we'll see…As always, constructive feedback is always welcome and appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Eleven: Veritas**

6:00 P.M.

The second in command of the Fractured Circle watched with sweating hands as the Alliance's armored trucks assaulted their makeshift base in front of the castle ruins. The fire and smoke drifted to the higher ledge where he and a few other men were watching the exchange.

"Sir?" One of the men questioned.

"Don't look at me like some idiot." He snarled back. "Attack. Those were the orders from the boss. The Alliance reneges, we attack. They reneged, so we attack. Go." He gestured.

The soldiers nodded and moved down to join the rest of the army that had survived the truck attack. The vehicles were full of nothing but poison gas and small explosives. A trick. Those scumbags. He narrowed his eyes and looked out into the Great Maw. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. The boss must have known, that was why he split and disappeared into Radiant Garden traffic. That miserable low life. He was gonna let them take the fall for this.

The black swell of Allied soldiers lined the rim of the Great Maw, shouldering bazookas that launched mortars into the fray of Ally versus Circle melee down in the canyon. He had to do something, and he had to do it fast, because even though they outnumbered the Alliance's army by 1000 soldiers, they were like fumbling idiots against these assassins.

He didn't know what to do.

In a matter of minutes, the front lines of the Fractured Circle's defense were cracking and gunfire reverberated around the canyon walls. He ducked as a bullet slammed into the rock facing a few feet from his head.

"Franks, sir, what should we do?" One of the men asked.

He stood soundless for a moment, too wrapped up in the slaughter going on in front of him to form a response. He shook his head and addressed the man. "Uh, call in the rest of our men. Bring out the heavy artillery and try to break their defensive line. Take out those ass-hats on the rim." He gestured toward the bazooka-wielding soldiers on the high ground.

Biting his knuckle, he squinted toward the other end of the Great Maw, where that bastard Keybearer was no doubt watching, leading from afar. Alliance: 1, Fractured Circle: 0.

**..:--X--:..**

The crisp autumn leaves had long been brown and curled, falling in clumps all around the wood paneled walls of the Fractured Circle base in Enchanted Castle. It would have been nice to sit and watch the leaves fall, carried on some wistful breeze of early fall. But no, instead, Lieutenant Truman Williams was parked on some forsaken hillside, waiting for some kid one third his age to tell him to lob a missile at the bastards who blew up the Headquarters in Radiant Garden.

Oh, he'd oblige, fine, the more bloody the better, but—he looked sideways at the enraptured new recruits, all nearly wetting themselves in anticipation—enabling mass death was never as power-instilling as those rookies tended to glorify it to be.

**..:--X--:..**

Leon stepped toward the doorway. "You would have been smarter to get out while you could, Kairi. Things are going to get messy fast."

He made to shoulder past her, but the girl didn't move from the doorway, blocking him.

"What's the rush?"

"Didn't you see the plans?" Tabaeus cut in behind Leon. "The General is launching the missiles simultaneously on all the worlds. Yellow tacks, remember?"

Kairi's eyes momentarily widened. "Oh, yes, I remember that." Her eyes flitted over Leon's shoulder toward the maps on the adjacent wall.

Leon gripped her shoulder, easing her aside. "You two stay here. It'll be safer, but I need to go—"

Kairi's palm, flat against his chest, made him pause. He looked at her, at the alien glint in her eye.

"Sorry, Squally, I can't let you do that."

"Colonel, that's not Kairi!" Tabaeus yelped behind him.

As the person in front of Leon swung around, sending her heel into his chest and forcing him back into the room, he thought, 'no shit, McCallister.'

He staggered once but quickly regained his balance, charging toward the door where bizarro Kairi stood lax, soft smile curling her lips nastily. Damn him for not having his Gunblade. He went for old school, drawing back a fist and swinging around to punch the girl in the neck.

The one wearing Kairi's face ducked but tripped on the rug behind her. Her loss of balance was his advantage, and Leon grabbed her ankle, twisting hard. She cried out and fell. As her body dropped, she twisted the rest of her body, bringing her free leg around to crash against his ribs. He took one step back and his heel met nothing, dropping several inches to the first step of the back room.

Bizarro Kairi wrested free of his grip and got to her feet quickly, shoving him back.

"My apologies for the rain check, but I have other matters to attend to," She said breathlessly, "And I just can't shirk them all to match muscle against a guy like you."

The door slammed shut, stealing the light from the back room. Leon pushed against the door, but it felt like he was throwing his weight against a brick wall.

"Sealing Spell, Colonel. You aren't busting this baby down." Her voice giggled from the other side. "My regards for the missile information. You should know by now how much I hate ignorance."

"Open the door, you coward!" Leon threw his shoulder against the door again, with the same results as previous.

Footsteps clacked across the floor and a door swung closed, leaving them trapped. There were no windows and now the door was magically sealed. Great. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Leon grunted as his shoulder connected with the immovable door, feeling his bones shift. Knob twisting, shoving, kicking, and pushing against it yielded all the same results: nothing. He finally turned, took up a chair from the only desk in the door, and smashed it seat first against the door. The chair shattered, splinters and bits of wood scattering to the floor as the shockwaves ran up his arms. Private McCallister cried out at the crash, holding her arms to herself and backing away from him.

Dropping the chair legs, he forced himself to take a breath to clear his head. Exhaling heavily, he folded his arms and faced Tabaeus. She had one hand over her mouth, the other arm looped around her torso, eyes impossibly wide and naïve-looking.

"You aren't going to cry, are you?" He asked blandly.

She shook her head, swallowing convulsively.

"Get a hold of yourself, then." He said, "Any bright ideas?" He looked over to the door again.

"I-I don't know, but I don't think that door is going to open, sir."

Leon offered her a flat look before pulling his phone out and dialing the King.

"He isn't going to believe this." He muttered.

"Who—"

"Shut up, McCallister."

**..:--X--:..**

Private Andy Borrow spat at the ground and kicked the sand over it. Summer in Agrabah was no joke and having to wear all this damn desert gear that was supposed to be lighter was no such thing. He threw a look back at the missile station hugging the wall of the rock cropping outside the city walls. If it was up to him, they would have bombed those suckers and be on an air-conditioned Gummi back to Radiant Garden now, or to Traverse Town, where he'd initially been stationed.

His lieutenant was chewing tobacco and standing staunch at the edge of the city wall: like a bull staring down a windstorm. Borrow cleared the gathering sand out of his protective goggles and glared across the blinding desert sand at the tiny smudge in the distance, their X marks the spot, their target.

**..:--X--:..**

It was a thing of beauty.

The Alliance's soldiers were like smoke, untouchable and deadly as venom. They were dropping the Fractured Circle's pitiful excuse for soldiers before the poor bastards knew they were dead. The Allied battalion was suffering their losses, but five Circle men fell before an Allied man hit his knees.

Sora leaned forward, knuckles pressing flat against the stone railing of the battlements. Tifa stood lock kneed and indignant on his left, overlooking the melee with her remaining eye, her person emanating discontent.

She would see reason soon.

Sora did not touch the radio at his belt. He didn't reach for it. He narrowed his eyes at the battlefield below, the floor quickly staining red and fire wrapping around the base columns of the foundation of the old ruins. His jaw flexed and he breathed in full, deep pulls, the smell of smoke and spent gun powder assailing his senses.

His battalion had successfully encircled the Fractured Circle's pathetic little army. No quarter had been given. This was going to be a bloodbath, and the blood that was spilt would be the enemy's. Sora's right hand itched for the Keyblade, but he kept his knuckles pressed to the stone. The surrounding soldiers dropped from the ledges to the battle ground, taking up their arms and firing into the mass: trained military men picking off the ducks on the pond.

The clock in the town behind him chimed six o'clock in the afternoon. The scuffle had been going on for half an hour now. That was long enough.

He reached down and took up the radio. Tifa's eyes followed his exact move, and he glanced at her.

"Questions? Comments? Concerns?" He asked, holding the radio in front of his mouth.

"I just hope you know what you're doing." She said vaguely.

He paused. "And what is it that I'm doing?"

"You're sealing your own fate."

His finger hesitated over the transmitter button on the radio. "Fate is powerless here."

She faced him. "You do this, and you will be in prison faster than you can watch their bodies burn. I promise you that."

"I am the head General in the Alliance. I have total power over the Council and the Allied Forces. What are YOU going to do?" He said lackadaisically.

"King Mickey woke up. He's here. Now." She said casually.

He hesitated. "It doesn't matter." He depressed the button on the radio. "Ready the missiles and stand by for my orders."

"Yes, sir." came from every lieutenant he'd stationed on the worlds, a chorus of obedience.

In one swift motion, Tifa snatched the radio from his hand and threw it over the edge of the battlement. Sora blinked at his open hand and heard the crash as the radio made impact a hundred feet below.

"Now why would you do that?" He looked to Tifa.

"They won't launch the missiles without your orders." She pointed. "How are you going to give those orders now, Mr. The Shit?" She snarled.

He exhaled, "You think I'm so stupid that I only have one way to contact them?" He shook his head, "Tifa, give me some credit."

She bristled. "All you're doing is killing people. Murderers and filth of the earth, but still human beings. If you launch those missiles, you will be endangering all of Radiant Garden and the other worlds, civilians and helpless common people. Authority or not, you're breaking the law, this is…" She waved one arm wordlessly. "I'll make sure you're put in prison for a very long time, stripped of all Allied rights and possibly exiled."

"If I just blow away some bad guys?"

"There's no more 'if' in this situation, Sora. You're dangerous." She clenched her fist and bent her knees, assuming a fighting stance. "And I'm not letting you hurt anyone else."

Sora watched her mildly, "Pick your poison, then."

He summoned Keyblade Oblivion to his left hand, where it balanced against the heel of his wrist, angled toward the concrete. Tifa narrowed her eyes and launched forward, swinging a bone-crushing fist toward his shoulder. Sora side stepped and slammed Oblivion against the small of her back. With a grunt, Tifa stumbled forward, spinning around and countering with a full roundhouse aimed at his gut.

Sora drove the handle of the Keyblade into her calf, feeling the bone quiver. She cried out and balanced on one leg, her fist successfully connecting with his ribs. His lungs emptied and ribs cracked. He coughed and drove Oblivion into her forearm, driving her fist away. At the same time, he flung out his right hand. Keyblade Bond of Flame flashed into existence, hovering a few inches away from his spread open palm. Tifa's eyes widened as he slung his arm around, Bond of Flame following his mental orders.

The jagged teeth caught the material hanging behind her legs, but missed her body. She withdrew and delivered another kick at his ankles. Sora jumped and rolled out of the way, blue electricity crackling out of both Keyblades, wrapping around his forearms. Tifa moved into a fresh attacking stance and Sora crossed the swords in front of him.

"Thundaga!" He drew the swords apart, their teeth screeching against each other.

White blue lightning roared down his arms, carried by the swords, and rushed toward her. Tifa screamed as the spell entered her body, flinging her back against the wall of the battlements. Concrete buckled under the impact and Tifa slumped down to the floor, shaking but still conscious, smoke rising from her shoulders.

When she didn't make any motion to rise, Sora diminished his Keyblades and cast an eye over her.

"If you want something done right…" He let the statement linger, turning back toward the scuffle down in the Great Maw.

"You. Crazy. Dick." Tifa snarled, struggling to her feet and barely standing on wobbling knees.

"You'll thank me when they're all dead." He answered softly, not turning to acknowledge her.

6:10 P.M.

He inhaled deeply and glanced over to the edge where he knew the launch stations to be armed and ready. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, calling the soldier who'd stood with him on the battlements, surveying the army with his binoculars.

"Bring me another radio." He ordered.

**..:--X--:..**

Lieutenant Lisa Whitney peered over the missile expert's shoulder at the diagnostics on the missile armed behind them. All the magical properties of the isle of Neverland were messing with their coordinate readings. She frowned and looked at the grid map spread over the console. Static blared over her radio, connecting her to the General, but it was just feedback, no orders.

Swearing, she squinted at the blip on the grip map indicating where the Fractured Circle base was. Come on, Keybearer, she tapped her finger on the panel, send me the order to launch this puppy and blow those scumbags off this rock.

**..:--X--:..**

For a few minutes, Kairi just stared up at the pipe-lined ceiling and wondered where she was, how she had gotten there, and why she had gone to sleep.

Sora.

Missiles.

Tacks.

Ansem's Study.

A plan.

Tabaeus.

Blue light.

Blackness.

She sat up in time to hear her own voice. "Sorry, Squally, I can't let you do that."

A disheveled noise of movement followed, and Kairi swung her legs off the bed, standing and crossing the catwalk to the old study…just in time to see herself slam a door on Leon, blocking the Colonel into the back room where her worst nightmare had been realized. She lifted a hand to stifle the cry of surprise and horror. Who was that wearing her face?!

The bizarro Kairi did some sort of weird arm gesture and slapped the door. "Sealing Spell, Colonel. You aren't busting this baby down." Her voice giggled. "My regards for the missile information. You should know by now how much I hate ignorance."

Something about that voice, overlooking the fact that it was an icy version of her own, Kairi felt a pang of familiarity about it. The creature that could have passed as her twin turned and Kairi ducked out of view onto the catwalk.

"Open the door, you coward!" Leon yelled on the other side of the door, followed by a loud thud.

The creature wordlessly crossed the study and left, closing the door behind her. Kairi moved around the corner and stepped off the catwalk into the study, hands still over her mouth in shock. There was an awful racket going on the other side of the door as Leon and Tabaeus wrought havoc on it, trying to escape. The Sealing Spell that her doppelganger had used was true to its name: that door wasn't budging.

A particularly loud smash made the door quiver, but it did not give, and was immediately followed by a yelp from Tabaeus. Kairi crept out into the study, eyes darting between the back room door and the door leading out of the study. What had that creature been? Some sort of weird shapeshifter thing!? Why was it disguised as her? What were Leon and Tabaeus doing down here anyway? She looked at the clock. It was nearing 6:30. The battle at the Great Maw would be well underway…

What if Sora had already launched the missiles?

Her knees wobbled and she gripped the desk, hearing Leon and Tabaeus speaking in low voices on the other side. Tabaeus sounded scared. Leon sounded furious, but controlled. Their words were unintelligible through the door, and Kairi stumbled over to it.

"No damn signal? Fuck…" Leon was discernible as she reached the door.

"Leon?" She offered.

"What do you want, you crazy bitch?!" Leon barked.

Kairi flinched and backed away from the door. "No, it's me. That…that thing is gone."

"Where were you?" Tabaeus asked.

"Shut up. It could be a trick." Leon snapped at her.

"No, it's really me. My name is Kairi. I'm a Princess of Heart. Um…Tabaeus folds paper cranes as a hobby!" She rattled, trying to sound legitimate.

"You still do that?" Leon groaned.

"Sir, big picture?" Tabaeus grumbled.

"All right," Leon cut in. "Kairi, I can't get a hold of King Mickey—"

"He's awake?" Hope surged through her. If anybody could talk sense into Sora or stop him, Mickey could.

"Yeah, now listen. He's supposed to meet me at the battlements. Tifa went ahead to stop Sora, but she's going to need back-up. Can you still summon a Keyblade?"

Kairi shook her head, caught herself, and spoke. "No, I never could."

"Shit." Leon hissed. "All right. The spell binding this door is too strong to just break down. Go find the king, tell him to go ahead. Can you hold a Keyblade?"

"Yes, I can use it." I just can't summon the thing, she inwardly cursed.

"All right, bring his Keyblade down here to unlock this door. Between him and Tifa, they can take Sora down before he gives the order to launch those missiles."

"Okay." She stammered.

"Now go!" He ordered.

Kairi turned on her heel and headed out the door of the study, sprinting down the hall and out into the open air. There were no missile streams in the sky, and that was a small relief. Aiming her feet toward the old defensive lines of Radiant Garden, she ran as hard as she could toward the battlements to meet the king.

**..:--X--:..**

Sergeant Harrison McCallister blew a large blue bubble with his bubble gum, overlooking the foggy, bleak view of the Isla de Muerta from the Alliance's underwater station off the coast. There had been no guards posted outside the enemy's base in the last ten minutes. Whoever had been supposed to replace the last guards…they were so fired.

He smirked and chewed his gum. Not that it would matter: that base would be a crater within the hour. He glanced over at his commanding officer, Lieutenant George Carter, as the older man rubbed his beard and studied the sonar with narrowed eyes. He wondered how things were going in Radiant Garden, and wondered why they hadn't been giving orders to launch yet.


	12. Ares

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Corbin Franks, Tabaeus McCallister, and the Fractured Circle. (drum roll) So here it is, the final chapter of this story! I'd like to ramble a little about how hard I worked on this, but a delay to the chapter itself might cause Endings Matter Most to hunt me down and throttle me…Thus, I will only say that I'm currently working on the sequel, titled **_**Lay Down the Salt Lines**_**. As always, constructive feedback is always welcome and appreciated!**

**..:--X--:..**

**Chapter Twelve: Ares**

6:30 P.M.

The horizon of Radiant Garden was turning a golden orange color, spreading rose tipped fingers across the crystalline blue sky.

The Council of the Alliance had just adjourned, and they stepped out from the makeshift headquarters, blinking in the dimming sunlight. The soft pepper of gunfire reached their ears from the Great Maw, and the King of Disney Castle frowned. The town was deserted, no one in sight. The Council was murmuring in approval of the battle going on, ignoring the King as he shuffled past them.

Across the Marketplace, he spotted Kairi, running full pelt, arms pumping and hair flying wildly behind her.

"Kairi!" He waved a hand, breaking away from the Council.

The girl ran on, not even glancing his way. Mickey narrowed his eyes, watching her go, running like the devil was chasing her.

"Your Majesty!"

Ears alert, Mickey turned away from the running girl and was greeted by the sight of Kairi running toward him. Startled, he glanced back to where he'd seen the first Kairi. The Bailey was empty. Alert flags up, he looked back to the Kairi running toward him, face ashen and hair flying.

"Kairi?" He met her in the middle. "I coulda swore I just saw somebody who looked just like ya!" He frowned.

Kairi straightened sharply, panting for breath, eyes darting around. "I know. Where did he go?"

"He?"

"He's—I mean—I think that was Corbin Franks—er—whoever he is."

"What?" Mickey tilted his head, confused.

Kairi caught her breath, "Sora figured it out, but—that's not the point! That—shapeshifter—"

"Shapeshifter?!" That's just what they needed, he sighed inwardly.

"—trapped Leon and Tabaeus McCallister in the back room of Ansem's Study with some sort of Sealing Spell and Leon said the Keyblade was the only thing that could bust it open and I can't summon a Keyblade but I can carry one, so I need yours so I can get them out while you help Tifa stop Sora." She blurted in one long breath, doubling over and breathing heavily.

Mickey's gaze hardened and he summoned his gold plated Keyblade. "Take it and hurry. Where are Sora and Tifa?"

"The old battlements by the Great Maw!" Kairi took the Keyblade reverently but impatiently, turning on her heel to run back the way she'd come.

"Kairi." Mickey said sternly.

She halted and looked back. "Your Majesty?"

"If Sora has become as dangerous as I've heard he has, we may have to take him out…permanently." He warned.

The girl's face fell, but then her eyes sharpened. "He's become a monster. Do what you have to."

The harshness of her tone made him pause, but then she was turning and running again. Taking a deep breath, King Mickey aimed his feet toward the old battlements and ran. What could Sora have done to turn Kairi, Princess of pure Heart and the love of his life, against him?

At the sudden fading of gunfire, he picked up his speed. Whatever Sora had become, he was going to have to stop him, and the idea frightened the King.

**..:--X--:..**

Sora held the fresh radio in one hand and checked his watch with the other.

6:32.

"Show time."

**..:--X--:..**

Kairi held the Keyblade in one sweaty hand as she sprinted back toward the old study. The leader of the Fractured Circle, she didn't know what to call him anymore, was escaping, running the other way like a coward. She couldn't go after him though, not that she could do much if she did go after him. Stronger people were stuck in that back room, and she had to get them out.

She reached the steps and launched herself down the hall, side-swiping the wall and spinning off it to run into the main study. The warm steel of the Keyblade's handle granted her steady fingers as she skidded to a stop in front of the back room's sealed door.

Drawing a calming breath, despite her rattling lungs, she lifted the tip of the Keyblade, angling it toward the center of the door. A jet of light flashed from the teeth of the blade to the center of the door, eradicating the oily film of the spell that had covered the wood. With a soft rattle, the spell shattered.

**..:--X--:..**

Tifa leaned heavily against the wall, the tingle of the Thunder Spell still keeping her nerves tight and painful. Her good eye was blurred, her bad eye still blind. Blinking away the pain, she straightened and looked past Sora to the battle in the Great Maw.

Sora lifted the radio and depressed the transmitter.

Every fiber in her body froze.

"Pull back." He ordered into the radio.

Part of her relaxed but the rest of her tensed even further. If he was repealing the troops, what was he planning on sending in?

**..:--X--:..**

The Princess's skin granted him sanctuary through the strong hold of the Radiant Garden Council of Representatives. The mouse was there. That was problematic. Soon he was staggering out of the Bailey, sprinting out of sight and away from any of the remaining warriors who had the fortitude to engage him.

The gunfire was fading to nothing from the Great Maw. His second was failing in his duties. That figured. The imbecile was becoming more trouble than he was worth.

Breaking out into the open air of the Dark Depths, he reached the edge and overlooked the Great Maw. The black uniforms of the Allied troops were pulling back, leaving his Fractured Circle followers bare and naked in the canyon.

That bastard Keybearer was actually going to do it.

**..:--X--:..**

Leon heard the spell break and was shouldering the door open before Kairi could lower the Keyblade. Tabaeus bumbled over after him, lifting her phone and crying out.

"We have signal!"

"Call the King." He rounded on Kairi. "Get as far from here as possible."

Kairi, in her shock, released the Keyblade, which immediately disappeared in a wisp of light. "No!" She snapped. "This is my fight too!"

"Your Highness?" Tabaeus called out as the phone picked up.

"We don't have time for this." Leon shoved past her, leaving both women in the study as he ran out of the building.

The sky remained intact outside, and McCallister raced up after him, still on the phone.

"He's almost to the battlements. The guards are knocked out, Tifa's doing."

A smirk tugged at his lips, but now was no time for that.

"Come on, they're going to need back up."

He and Tabaeus raced away from the square, the spires of the old battlements standing stark and cold against the softer Radiant Garden skyline. Behind them, Kairi matched their pace, though what good she could do, Leon had no idea. For now, he let her follow.

**..:--X--:..**

The Alliance was pulling back.

Retreat?

No, they were in control of this battle.

What were they planning?

The second in command of the Fractured Circle, grinding his teeth, looked over the Great Maw. His men were scattering, in disarray, unorganized and inexperienced. He didn't know what to do. He lifted his communication link.

"We need back up."

The line was dead. No tone. No response.

Their communication had been severed.

He looked across the canyon toward the black mass of soldiers. Fear drilled itself deep in his chest and he took a step back. There would be no winning this. That bastard knew it. He knew they couldn't win, so he'd fled like a coward.

There was no sense in sticking around to watch the rest of them all burn.

Turning, Franks dropped his com link and ran away from the Fractured Circle base, ducking into the empty Gummi ship waiting outside the ruins. Gunning the engines, he lifted the ship and roared away from the remaining soldiers, abandoning the Fractured Circle.

**..:--X--:..**

Mickey reached the platform atop the battlements to find Tifa, clothes steaming, leaning against the wall and Sora, shoulders lax, facing the Great Maw, back to the King. Tifa looked over and caught Mickey's eye. Her ruined left eye pained him, but her glaring right eye burned with anger, amidst the scorch marks blackening the platform surrounding her.

"Sora, it's time to stop." He announced, stepping out onto the battlements.

Sora gave no reaction, not even turning his head.

Narrowing his eyes, Mickey summoned his Keyblade. The golden sword flashed into his hand. Tifa straightened slowly, her limbs still quivering, and took a step to the side, nodding to Mickey to double team the younger Keybearer.

"It's time to begin." Sora half turned to the King, expression deadpan.

The flat, withdrawn look on his face clashed with the ice that cut daggers across the air between the two warriors. Tifa took a step closer, fists raised and clenched. Mickey remained where he was, matching Sora's stare.

"Begin what?" The King asked. "I convinced the Council to revoke your authority."

The lie hung in the air like a wisp of smoke, and Sora saw right through it.

"Stop." He whispered.

The spell cut through the atmosphere like an electric current, invisible tendrils of magic curling around Mickey and Tifa's legs, rooting them to the spot. Their arms froze in the air and their bodies were instantly paralyzed, leaving them statuesque, with only their eyes and mouths workable.

Lips flat, Sora turned his back on them and held the radio ready.

"Move into position."

**..:--X--:..**

Tabaeus followed after Colonel Leonhart, running almost twice as hard to keep up with the Colonel's longer legged pace. They sprinted past the yawning skyway over the Great Maw, getting a good view of the Allied and Circle bodies scattered about. The enemy's army was falling back in chaotic disarray. The Allied army was gone.

"They've pulled back?" She yelled aloud.

"Damn it." He hissed.

Tabaeus glanced back to see that Kairi had fallen far behind. She was still running after them, but without military training, she couldn't keep up with the two soldiers. Looking forward again, Tabaeus focused between the Colonel's shoulder blades.

"Shit. Eight o'clock." He barked.

Tabaeus glanced to her sharp left. The tips of three steel plated missiles were poking out of the lips of the Great Maw. Breath catching in her throat, she looked to the opposite wall of the Great Maw and saw the other three missiles in position.

The old battlements opened up a hundred feet ahead, and the guards lay senseless on the ground. The Colonel reached them first, bounding over the bodies and charging up the stairs. Tabaeus skidded just short of the guards, running to the railing and looking down. The battalion of Allied soldiers was retreating into the cave walls under the battlements, into shelter.

She looked at her watch.

6:40.

**..:--X--:..**

Tabaeus and Leon had disappeared under the shadow of the battlements. Kairi's lungs were pumping battery acid and her legs were burning. Stumbling, she slowed her pace out of necessity and tried to get her breathing under control.

Turning, she looked over into the Great Maw. The bodies, the death, the carnage, and only one army in chaos. Her eyes followed the rim of the canyon and spotted something sticking out of the side. It was lean and shiny, and the lethal point on the top made her blood chill.

One of the missiles.

She squinted into the dusk light, but she couldn't make out any of the others that she knew to be there, hidden, waiting for the order.

Kairi looked toward the battlement and saw Tabaeus had stopped short of the stairs, looking down into the canyon. Leon had disappeared into the shadows, hopefully to stop Sora. The look in Sora's eyes…she shook her head to clear away the image…She hoped Leon, Tifa, and the King stopped him in time.

**..:--X--:..**

Tifa fought the Stop Spell, but it was no use. She was stuck, along with the King.

"Sora, stop this!" Mickey was yelling.

The radio crackled. "The Fractured Circle has surrendered, sir."

Leon burst onto the platform and Tifa felt a surge of relief.

"Sora!" He barked.

"Stop him!" Tifa screamed.

"They've surrendered." Mickey cried. "It's over."

Leon ran toward Sora.

Sora just pushed the button on the radio, his voice a smooth order.

"Launch."

**..:--X--:..**

Lieutenant Walker lifted a hand as the order crackled over, and dropped his fist.

Behind him, his men depressed the button, and the missile went up, roaring toward the white station in the middle of the Pride Lands.

**..:--X--:..**

On Deep Jungle, Lieutenant Anderson flicked her cigarette to the ground and nodded to the men at the launch panel. Spent fuel and smoke boiled out of the silo, and the missile streaked through the upper canopies of the trees, arcing toward the Fractured Circle base.

**..:--X--:..**

The mountains in the Land of Dragons quivered as the missile thundered over the peaks, descending in a streak of white through the snow to the hidden base in the ravine. Sergeant Ford caught the eye of her superior, Lieutenant Cape, who narrowed his eyes and watched the missile make contact.

**..:--X--:..**

The order came, and Lieutenant Williams watched the explosion from the missile rip through the frail forest of Enchanted Castle, obliterating the enemy's station and vaporizing the soldiers inside.

"Suck it, bitches." He hissed, watching the fire through binoculars.

**..:--X--:..**

Six missiles rose in deadly unison from the lips of the Great Maw in Radiant Garden. White tails from the rockets traced their travels across the unblemished dusk sky.

**..:--X--:..**

The desert sands of Agrabah shifted with the shock wave from the missile's blast. Private Borrow shielded his eyes with one raised arm. There wasn't even time to scream before the soldiers in the enemy's base were blown to smithereens. Burn, baby, burn, he thought, watching his lieutenant remain staunch, spitting a wad of chewed tobacco to the sand.

**..:--X--:..**

The radio hit the floor of the Neverland Allied station as the missile blew a crater into the ground where minutes earlier had been an enemy station armed with hundreds of Fractured Circle men. Now they were all dead. Lieutenant Whitney watched the tower of flames roll across the island's sky, and felt safe for the first time in weeks.

**..:--X--:..**

Something was wrong.

Sergeant Harrison McCallister heard the underwater station groan around them as the missile launched. Lieutenant Carter stepped forward, barking orders to the soldiers manning the control panel. McCallister watched the missile on the video feed: emerging from the sea and roaring in a looping arc to contact the station on the Isla de Muerta.

The sound of bolts pinging off the steel plated walls made all of them jump. Streams of pressured water began to spew into the base through the holes in the plates. The missile made impact with the Fractured Circle base, sending shockwaves through the floor of the sea, shaking the station. Water began to pour in earnest into the base, flooding the station.

**..:--X--:..**

Kairi lifted a hand to cover her mouth, her other hand gripping the stone railing beside her as the missiles cross hatched the sky, forming a ribcage of death over the purpling sky of Radiant Garden. Shock stole the strength from her legs and her knees buckled.

The white tails swelled as the rockets stretched onward, reaching their highest points in the sky. Their noses tipped downward, and they began their descent. With them, Kairi collapsed, landing on her knees on the cobblestone ground of the Marketplace.

**..:--X--:..**

If she hadn't already been paralyzed where she stood, Tifa would have frozen as the order went out. Seconds later, the white streaks rose across the sky. She followed it with her eyes, casting a sidelong glance to Mickey, who was frozen like her, and Leon, who could still do something. He caught her eye and ducked around the King, touching the mouse behind the ears.

He muttered a counterspell and King Mickey charged forward, Keyblade flashing into his hands. Tifa's eyes burned as Leon hurried over to her. Nothing they did could stop it now.

**..:--X--:..**

"No!" Tabaeus grabbed the stone railing with both hands as the missiles began to descend.

They were remote programmed; her yelling wasn't going to change anything. Horror swam through her gut and she looked toward the scattered army of the Fractured Circle. This was wrong. They had surrendered, hadn't they? She could have sworn she heard that they had surrendered. Why had the General launched the missiles?!

The thunder of the rockets bore down on her ears and nausea swept through her. Gagging on the horror, she doubled over, retching onto the concrete beside the battlement wall.

**..:--X--:..**

Leon moved around King Mickey as the mouse charged at Sora. Tifa watched him with wild eyes and he lit a hand to her back, muttering the counterspell to Stop. Her paralysis released and she lurched forward.

"You bastard!" She screamed. "They surrendered! This isn't justice!"

Mickey swung his Keyblade around, aimed squarely for Sora's ribs. The golden teeth met the forked furls of Ultima Weapon. Blue lightning crackled around the blades, surging up Sora's left arm, flashing in the cold depths of his eyes.

Leon grabbed Tifa as she made to charge Sora. She was too wild, and he didn't trust the dead look in Sora's eyes. He didn't trust Sora at all. Tifa struggled.

"Let me go!" She screamed. "Sora, you stupid shit! What does this prove?!"

Sora shoved Mickey back, swinging Ultima Weapon in a short perimeter circle.

"Go ahead, strike me down now. The point is made." He gestured to the Great Maw, where the remainders of the enemy's army had seen their doom and were vainly attempting to run.

"What point?" Leon hissed, using Tifa's thrashing as an anchor to keep himself from attacking the Keybearer. "They're all going to die. Who are you proving anything to?"

Sora met his stare. "Everyone else who opposes the Alliance. This will show them," He faced them completely, his back to the Great Maw. "not to fuck with us."

The missiles made contact.

**..:--X--:..**

He was standing on the edge of the Dark Depths when it happened. Six explosions simultaneously happening on top of each other, in instantaneous succession. He actually saw the shockwave move in a solid ring from the epicenter at the base of the castle ruins. The rush of air carried the earsplitting roar of the blast, knocking him back a step.

And just like that, his army was gone.

The tallest spire of the Hollow Bastion ruins sank out of sight as the structure imploded, collapsing from the inside in a plume of black smoke and red flames. His knees quaked as he reverted to his natural form, casting aside the Princess's skin. It would do him no good now.

A single blue Gummi swooped in low, barely missing the lips of the Dark Depths, swinging into a clumsy landing behind him.

"Sir!" His second in command, Corbin Franks, leaned out of the cockpit. "Let's get out of here! He's bombing the entire damn army!"

He blinked into the ash that was drifting through the sky now.

"Sir!" Franks beckoned.

Cursing, he crossed over and climbed up into the Gummi. Franks slammed the door closed and jumped back into the pilot's seat, jerking a few levers until the craft and lifting back into the sky.

"I've lost all contact with the other stations, sir." His second was blabbering. "They're gone. They're all gone, dead, bombed to Hell."

"I know." He hissed, looking through the windshield to the carnage below.

Franks, with wide eyes, navigated the Gummi out of the Radiant Garden atmosphere. As he did, the leader of the Fractured Circle gazed down to the Allied battlements, where the little snot Keybearer was no doubt reveling in his victory.

"Touche, Sora." He murmured.

The Gummi reached the edge of space and disappeared from Radiant Garden.

**..:--X--:..**

Sora turned his back on the others. There was nothing they could do now. The radio in his right hand crackled.

"_Launch in Traverse Town was successful_."

The flames had enveloped the silhouette of the castle ruins. The spires sunk into the black smoke, leaving only a pillar of fire and ash in its wake. The ensuing shockwave rushed across the battlements, climbing the walls and coursing up to greet him.

"_Deep Jungle launch was successful_." The radio informed.

Sora closed his eyes, drinking in the blast of hot air and smoke that pushed against him. It smelled like fire and burned stone. Opening his eyes again, he watched the impact explosions shake the floor of the Great Maw, causing the walls to collapse into the canyon.

"_Twilight Town launch a success, sir_."

The roar of the explosions should have instantly deafened him, but everything seemed crystal clear. Flames thundered through the smoke like balloons of heat, swallowing up acres in its path. The towers of black smoke curled up into the higher atmosphere, tainting the pure skyline of Radiant Garden.

"_Neverland station has been destroyed_."

Tifa's screaming faded behind him. Mickey didn't try another attack. The effort was futile now anyway. It was done. The Fractured Circle was no more. A dry smile curled Sora's lips as he watched the ruins of the castle continue to plummet into themselves.

"_Atlantica missile has hit its target, sir_."

He fisted the railing, his knuckles pressing against the stone wall of the battlement. The radio hung by the strap over his wrist. He breathed in deeply, watching the enemy burn.

"_Base in Enchanted Castle has been destroyed_."

The screaming in the Great Maw fell suddenly silent.

"_Success in Olympus Coliseum_."

The battlements quivered in the aftershock.

"_Land of Dragons is clear_."

The smoke climbed higher, melting together with the tails of the missile streams.

"_Agrabah launch was successful, sir_."

The black ash and smoke would linger in the air for weeks afterward.

"_Halloween Town base has been demolished_."

There would be no bodies to find.

"_Wonderland missile has wiped out the target_."

They had demanded the Alliance's arsenal.

"_Launch in Pride Lands was successful_."

They got it.

"_Attack successful in the World that Never Was_."

Euphoria coursed through Sora's blood as the column of flames and smoke coiled like a massive cyclone over the emptiness where the ruins had stood moments earlier.

"_Launch in Port Royal successful, but contact with the Allied station has been lost_."

The flames ushered in a new era. One of peace and justice. Ushered in by blood.

"_Base has been wiped out in Disney Castle, sir_."

The radio fell silent and Sora let it hang from his arm. His eyes scanned the carnage where the Great Maw had been, the flames and the smoke and the deafening silence of death hanging in the air.

The clock in the square tolled seven o'clock.

The General of the Alliance spoke softly to no one. "Attack in Radiant Garden successful."


End file.
